Final Destination Meets The Lost Boys
by Cici-inator
Summary: What if all major FD characters replaced and merged with those of The Lost Boys...? (Updated with Chapter 6; JUL 2nd!)
1. Introduction

THE CICI ACADEMY 

IN ASSOCIATION WITH

NEW LINE CINEMA AND WARNER BROS

PROUDLY PRESENT

FINAL DESTINATION MEETS THE LOST BOYS

STARRING

Kerr Smith as Carter Horton

Devon Sawa as Alex Browning

Dianne Wiest as Lucy Emerson Horton

Bernard Hughes as Grandpa Horton

ALSO STARRING

Kiefer Sutherland as David

Ali Larter as Clear Rivers

Amanda Detmer as Terry Chaney

Seann William Scott as Billy Hitchcock

Chad E Donella as Tod Waggner 

Edward Herrmann as Max

Alex Winter as Marko

Brooke McCarter as Paul

Billy Wirth as Dwayne

Chance Michael Corbitt as Laddie Chaney

Cody the dog as Nanook

Some dog actor as Prince

Folsom the dog as Thorn

AND

Tony Todd as Mortician Bludworth

CAMEO APPEARANCES BY

AJ Cook as Kimberly Corman

Michael Landes as Thomas Burke

Forbes Angus as Guard Murnau

Kristen Cloke as Valerie Lewton-Murnau

WRITING CREDITS

Jeffrey Boam, Janice Fisher, James Jeremias; The Lost Boys

Glen Morgan, James Wong, Jeffrey Reddick; Final Destination

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

Cici-inator

PRODUCED BY

Cici-inator and the Cici Academy 

DIRECTED BY

Cici-inator


	2. Prologue

**Final Destination Meets The Lost Boys**

**_Disclaimer: _**_None of the characters from Final Destination or The Lost Boys belong to me. They are property of New Line Cinema and Warner Bros. So please, no one from those big scary lawyer companies come and sue my ass off for copyright infringement or anything like that cos I'm just a fan, writing a Fanfiction…and a fan with, ahem, no money. _

**_Author's Notes:_**_ All right, as you probably have guessed, this is a cross over fic between two of my all time favourite movies: Final Destination and The Lost Boys. A couple of months ago, I had decided to do an X over fic with FD. The problem was, which movie would fit together nicely with FD. I was watching my Lost Boys DeeeVeeeDeee the other night and it hit me. Quiet a few LB characters could easily be the characters in FD…Carter is similar to David; the tough bad ass, Toddie and Billy could easily be eccentric comic book store owners Edgar and Alan, the list goes on… Feedback is encouraged but not compulsory. I am trying to stay true to the character traits from each movie and please her royal Dharke-ness with a Carter centered Fanfiction…hopefully I will have delivered…even if it's not about werewolves…_

**PROLOGUE**

The air was chilled on the Santa Carla boardwalk, the most popular area of the Santa Carla resort. Several hundreds of kids attended the local carnival every night, winning prizes here and there. On the carousel, a peroxide punk, David, and his three buddies were all dressed in black punk attire. A cheery brunette, smiled happily in the arms of her boyfriend. David recognised him immediately.

Officer Thomas Burke. 

Burke had busted David's ass on many an occasion. The brown nosing cop had tried to get David done for arson, grand theft auto, and most recently, murder. He had failed in all three attempts. Evidence against David's crimes was lacking and all cases were thrown out. David smirked at the disgusting sight of love before his very eyes. David knew all too well that Burke was buttered on the other side, and if his girlfriend knew, she'd ought to tell him where to go. He had his contacts, telling him that Burke himself was a petty thief. 

_What a perfect time for revenge_, thought David. 

He nodded his head to his friends. They knew what to do.

Marko, a good looking, strong lad, started pushing into Burke's back. The officer acted rashly, turned and shoved Marko back into Dwayne. 

"What the fuck is your problem, ass-wipe?!" challenged Paul.

David stepped forward, ready to surprise Burke from behind, however a silver haired figure pulled him back roughly, one arm slipping around his torso, the other baton occupied hand went under the blond's chin. 

"I told you guys to stay off the boardwalk."

David traced the voice to that of Guard Murnau. He smirked at the others as Murnau dropped his restraint, David turned to stare the guard directly in the eye. 

 "Okay boys, let's go." 

Dropping down to the ground, Marko, Dwayne and Paul followed David to where the parked motorcycles were. 

"What was that about, Tom?" 

Burke turned to face his girlfriend. He saw the concern in her eyes. He smiled at her.

"Nothing…"

Murnau caught Burke smiling.

"Hey, you…"

Burke faced the older man, listening to what he had to say.

"Off the boardwalk."

"Relax man, I don't mean any harm."

"Off the boardwalk." Murnau repeated, sterner. Burke rolled his eyes, not in the mood for negotiating with a measly security guard. The way Burke saw things; he was far superior, being a cop and all. He was due to take his FBI exam next weekend, much to Kimberly's protests. She wanted to go shopping. Burke reached back, searching for Kimberly's hand. 

"We're leaving." 

"But Tom…" whined the brunette. Burke squeezed her hand harder, signalling for her to be quiet and follow him off the carousel. 

"Come on Kimmie, let's go."

---

Midnight came quiet quickly. Another night of successful profit for the boardwalk. Every night, at around this time, Murnau had to lock up. He knew this job paid rotten but he had to have some sort of support for his new spouse, Valerie. How he longed to get home and see her. Walking out to his car, he searched for his car keys. 

Jamming his hands into his pockets, trying not to take out the gates key, a shiver found it's way down his back. Putting it down to just the wind, Murnau walked forward to his car. The next noise made him stop in his tracks. He could vaguely hear whistling. 

_Was someone whistling for a lost dog?_

Turning, his gaze shot straight up towards the sky. What Murnau saw, shook him to his very core. His eyes widened, his breathing become more rapid almost to the point of hyperventilation, he stood frozen to the spot. His "fight or flee" radar suddenly kicked in and at a frenzied pace, he ran towards the car. 

The creature followed him, the car keys jangled in his hands, his nerves shredded in two. Fumbling around for the car keys in this desperate situation was something the former teacher did not favour. Getting to grips with the keys, he pushed them into the lock. From behind, the assailant swooped in and dragged Murnau off his feet. The car door was easily broken off its hinges as Murnau was flung into the air, his frantic screams echoing into the night skies. 

--- 

Carter Horton sat slumped in the back seat of his mom's pick up, looking unabashedly bored. The trip from Phoenix was a long one. And listening to his rather annoying cousin, Alex Browning talking for three hours straight, certainly made the drive more unbearable. Alex had lived with Carter and his mom and dad for most of his life. His aunt Barbara and uncle Ken had died in a car accident when Alex was just a toddler. And during the past fifteen years, Carter felt like he was playing second fiddle to Alex in his mother's affections. 

Not that it bothered the jock seeing as Alex was what Lucy had always wanted Carter to be: a smart, intelligent son. Instead Carter's personality reflected on that of his father's: a moody, diligent asshole. Carter didn't care. He liked himself and that was all that mattered. He was certainly glad he was _not_ Alex, the plank. 

Now, Alex was searching for a music station with some actual decent music. Carter cringed hearing Britney Spears' squeaking voice. Sitting forward, Carter edged his hand through the space between the passenger seat and the driver seat and found the seek button on the radio.

"Carter, I was listening to that…" Alex argued. Carter scowled the infamous death scowl at his cousin. Seeing the face, Alex backed off. 

"You two, don't start…" warned Lucy. 

Finally, Carter came to a station, which played Metallica's _Enter the Sandman_. Grinning at his achievement in finding a decent station, he sat back, looking rather smug. The music threatened to damage Lucy's ear drums so she flicked the station looking for something more her style. 

Celine Dion's dulcet tones filled the car speakers.

"Keep going!" Alex and Carter said together in unison, obviously agreeing on something. 

"Hey, look!" Lucy exclaimed, "We're almost there!"

"What's that smell?" Carter scoffed, the smell attacking his nostrils. He put his sleeve to his face in an attempt to block it out. 

"The Ocean air." Lucy replied. She had always wanted to live by the ocean. Ever since she was a little girl. She obviously smelt something _very_ different.

"Smells like someone died." Alex mumbled. 

"Look guys, I know this past year hasn't been easy, what with the divorce and all…"

"More like the past fifteen years," Carter replied, defending his father. 

Alex knew that was a dig at him for invading Carter's personal space at the Horton residence. Alex didn't like the fact that he and Carter were cousins as much as Carter despised it himself. But now, moving to a new city, they would _have_ to get along for the sake of boredom. Looking at the two options, Carter would choose boredom over being friends with Alex. Just because they were blood related, didn't mean they had to like each other. 

"You're gonna like living in Santa Carla."

"I highly doubt that, mom." Said Carter. For one thing: he'd surely miss the hot babes Phoenix offered. Judging by what he had already seen of the Santa Carla locals, the girls were either dorks or just plain unattractive in Carter's eyes. 

Carter glanced at the welcoming billboard for Santa Carla. Well, it had a beach. Maybe all the hot chicks hung out down there, he thought, smiling to himself. 

_Time to turn on the Horton charm._

Behind the billboard, Carter's smile dropped as he read five threatening words in red spray paint:

MURDER CAPITAL OF THE WORLD. 


	3. Chapter One

**Final Destination Meets The Lost Boys**

**Chapter One**

Grandpa Horton's farm came into view. It was just outside the Santa Carla town area, but the drive out felt like an eternity. They had stopped in town for something to eat. Carter wasn't hungry for food. He was hungry for money. If he had to move somewhere completely different, he would much rather not live with his family. Maybe if he got a decent paying job, he could eventually move out. However, from asking around, the amount of jobs was sparse or as one local had told Carter: nothing was "legal". 

Alex had been pandering around with their dogs, Nanook and Prince. Prince was Carter's Alsatian and Nanook was…hell, Carter didn't know what type of dog Alex's was. Carter managed to unload his motorcycle from the back of Lucy's pick up. He was _not_ being in the same car as Alex if all he did was ramble on. 

Stepping off the bike and switching the engine off, Carter looked at Grandpa's house. _House? More like a fucking hut_, he thought grimly. Alex stepped out the car, motioning for Nanook to follow him. Lucy noticed something on the front porch. 

It was her father. 

Alex's eyebrows raised… _was he dead?_

Lucy sighed and walked up the porch steps, kneeling down beside her father. "Dad? Dad?"

"Looks like his dead." Alex mused.

"Oh no," Lucy replied. "He's just a deep sleeper."

Alex looked to Carter. "Your grandpa sleeps on the front porch?"

"If he's dead can we go back to Phoenix?" Carter said, ignoring Alex's question. 

Lucy gave her son a glare. From behind, Grandpa Horton lifted his head up.

"I'm playin' dead." He winked at his grandson. 

Carter rolled his eyes while Alex let out a snigger. 

  
"And from what I heard, doing a damn good job of it too."

"Oh dad!" Lucy declared and proceeded to hug her father, Carter exchanged a disgusted glance with Alex, who was still beaming like a cat. 

Carter helped Alex carry their possessions into the house. 

"Don't think that since we've moved to a new place, you and I can start all over again." Carter announced, making his way towards to kitchen. Alex followed, his arms full of objects, Nanook's water bowl strategically balanced on his head. 

"I don't, so don't worry. This place looks kinda cool."

"Cool?" Carter deadpanned. "Yeah, for the _Texas Chainsaw Massacre_."

"Come on Carter, give Aunt Lucy a break." Alex reasoned, setting down several belongings on the kitchen table. He glanced around the kitchen, obviously looking for something.

"What are you looking for?"

"What's wrong with this picture?" Alex replied. 

Carter surveyed his surroundings, then looked at Alex. "You're here."

"Funny." 

"Wasn't meant to be."

"There's no TV." Alex revealed. "Have you seen a TV, Carter? I haven't seen a TV. Do you know what that means when there's no TV?"

"You don't shut up?" Carter asked, hopefully.

Alex shook his head and pursed his lips. "No MTV."

"Alex, Grandpa's flat broke."

Outside, Grandpa was helping Lucy unpack her belongings. 

"Lucy, you are the only woman I've ever known, who didn't improved her situation by getting a divorce." He said, expressing his concerns. 

"Well, a big legal war wasn't going to improve anybody's situation." Lucy replied. "We've all been through enough. Especially Carter and Alex. Anyway, I was raised better than that!" she said and deposited a kiss upon her father's head.

Grandpa Horton jumped back quickly, his hand going to the back of his head. "Ouch! My hair!"

Lucy gave him a playful grin and walked into the house, only to find Carter chasing Alex around the house like an old episode of _Tom and Jerry_. 

"Aunt Lucy, you've gotta help me!"

"Guys, no running in the house!" Lucy scolded.

Nevertheless, Carter continued to chase Alex around the house. Alex accidentally ran into a room full of chemicals and apparatus. He stopped short in his tracks, eyes widening, noticing lots of stuffed animals. 

Carter grinned. "Talk about _The Texas Chainsaw Massacre_."

"Rules!" exclaimed a voice, making both Alex and Carter jump. Carter tried to conceal his surprise but Grandpa's booming voice was less than subtle. 

"We got rules around here." 

Alex made his way into the kitchen, Carter following his cousin. Grandpa was giving the guided tour. Well, what there was to tour anyway. Grandpa knelt down slightly, opening the fridge door. One the second shelf, Carter noticed a cardboard flap that declared:

OLD FART'S

"Second shelf is mine. That's where I keep my root beers and my double thick Oreo Cookies. Nobody touches the second shelf but me." Alex nodded, listening while Carter's eyes almost threatened to shut over in boredom. 

"There's another rule around here and I want you to pay close attention." Grandpa said, starting to make his way out the kitchen…

"…don't touch anything. Everything is exactly where I want it."

Seeing that Grandpa was out the room, Carter nudged Alex and glanced out the window. Alex saw several garden weeds growing in several pots. Carter grinned and pantomimed a druggie getting high on weed. Carter raised his eyebrows, looking to get a humoured reaction from Alex. And that he did. Alex's high pitched laughed echoed in Carter's ears. 

"Don't do that," Carter said, smile dropping. "You giggle like a banshee."

Alex frowned at Carter and began to make his way into the living room. Grandpa was still rattling on, obviously unaware that neither of the boys were listening. 

"Grandpa, is it true that Santa Carla is the murder capital of the world?" Carter asked.

"Well, there are some bad elements around here."

  
"Wait a second," Alex declared. "Lemme get this straight: we move to the murder capital of the world? Are you serious?"

"Well Alex, let me put it this way," Grandpa continued, "If all the corpses buried around here were to stand up all at once: we'd have one hell of a population problem."

Alex's eyes widened in horror as his Aunt Lucy came in the front door behind her father. Alex threw a nervous glance at Carter, who just rolled his eyes, shaking his head. 

"Great dad," said Lucy.

"Now on Wednesdays," Grandpa said, walking towards his little office. Carter and Alex followed. "When the mailman brings the TV Guide, sometimes the address label is curled up a little. You'll be tempted to tear it off. Don't. You'll only wind up ripping the cover and I don't like that."

He turned into the office and began to close the doors over. "And stay outta here!"

Alex put his hand on the doors, stopping the old man from sliding them shut.

"Wait, you _have_ a TV?"

"No." he replied flatly. "I just like to read the TV Guide." 

He paused for a second, looking at Alex's expression slip into one of despair. 

"Read the TV Guide, you don't _need_ a TV."

---

"I don't see why you insist on dragging me down here," Carter shouted at Alex, his voice raising as he tried to communicate with his cousin over the music being played by the live band. 

"I didn't drag you here, "Alex shouted back, trying to get his point across. "Your mom did."

Carter and Alex were surrounded by hundreds of teenagers, enjoying the music and the general atmosphere of the Boardwalk. Carter stood firm, folding his arms, trying his best to look jaded. From the corner of his eye, he saw Alex bobbing his head to the music. He suppressed the laughter that he knew threatened to emerge. 

_No Carter, don't laugh_, he mused. _Look bored and uninterested, surely Alex will wanna…_

Right there and then, Carter's eyes widened in complete shock. There right in front of him, a gorgeous blonde girl, danced her way through the crowd. Carter was absolutely speechless, which, granted was a first. His expression had turned from trademark scowl, to open mouth amazement. Her curled hair made her face seem all the more perfect: gorgeous, sparkling green eyes, luscious lips, perfect breasts…his perfect woman. He just _had_ to know her name. 

However, she was not alone. 

He could see another blonde, straight haired girl, dancing her way through in the same manner. She, was not quite so striking. _Looks like someone Alex would date…_

Carter noticed that 'his' girl was holding someone's hand. Carter breathed a sigh of relief; realising the hand did not belong to her boyfriend. Not unless, a 12 year old brat was her boyfriend. _Could be her little brother? _They walked right by Carter, and his head turned in her direction as if on its own accord. He was simply mesmerised by her beauty.  

_Maybe moving here was not such a bad idea after all_.

They stood on an upright stage, watching the band playing. They girls continued to dance to the music. Carter watched her graceful moves. He straightened his head in the direction of the band, trying to make it look less obvious that he was staring at her. From the corner of his eye, he watched her as she whispered something in her friend's ear. Then she looked directly at him.

  
Carter swallowed hard, looking away completely, feeling embarrassed. For the first time in his life, Carter Horton was in love. The girl watched Carter, as he tried to conceal his interest. Slowly, Carter turned his eyes to the girl again. This time, their gazes locked upon each other. The girl smiled at him, but Carter's muscles did not react. He couldn't even smile for such a beauty. 

Alex noticed that Carter's attention was not focused on the band. He looked at Carter then straight ahead and noticed the two girls. He rolled his eyes. Obviously something had interested him, now. Alex focused his attention back on the band. 

Carter watched as the two girls whispered something to each other again. The object of his affections pulled her friend with her, the little boy following immediately, as they exited up the stairs. Carter's heart raced…he _had_ to follow her! Grabbing Alex by the arm, the tougher boy roughly pulled the blond with him… 

---

Lucy was walking the Boardwalk alone, breathing in the ocean air. Her dream as a little girl to live by the sea had come true. Albeit, 30 years too late. She always knew, that one day, she would live with her father again out by the beach. Wrapping her arms around herself, Lucy snuggled into her own embrace, trying to shut out the cold wind that swirled around. 

To her left, she caught a sad sight. A dark haired woman was placing a missing persons flyer on the pinboard. From where she walked, she could see the picture was of a security guard, most likely the woman's husband. The woman felt someone watching her and she turned around. Lucy saw her dejected, tear stained face eyeing her. She looked away and continued walking. In front of her was a little boy, crying for his mother. 

"Hey," Lucy said warmly, kneeling down to the little boy. "What's your name?"

"Danny."

"Well, are you lost, Danny?"

Sniffing, the lad nodded. 

"Let's ask in here," Lucy said, holding out her hand and cocking her head in the direction of a video store. Danny took her hand and she led him into the video shop. Behind the counter, Lucy noticed a man with floppy brown hair and spectacles. 

"Excuse me, I was wondering if you could help us. This little boy is lost and we're wondering if his mother might be in here."

"I don't really know," the manager told her. 

"Oh there you are!" Cried a voice from behind. Lucy looked over her shoulder to see a woman rushing into the video store. Danny let go of Lucy's secure hand and walked to his mother. 

"I was so worried, don't run off like that!" 

The spectacled man, leaned over the counter and handed Danny a lollipop. 

"There you are."

"Thank you."

"Bye-bye," Lucy waved to the little boy as his mother gave her a smile of thanks. Just as she walked out, in slipped David and his punk friends. The owner's smile dropped immediately as he set eyes upon David. Marko made his way to a female employee. He grinned at the brunette with frizzy hair. 

"We only come here to watch one thing," Marko drawled, as Paul and Dwayne came over and started chatting to the assistant. 

Back at the counter, the owner handed Lucy a lollipop too. "You did good."

"No thanks," Lucy smiled wearily, and then her expression changed. "Well, on second thought…"

"I told you not to come in here anymore," the owner challenged David. David didn't say anything, just smirked. The boys left peacefully, heading out to their motorcycles. 

"Wild kids." Remarked the owner.

"Oh they're just young," Lucy replied, suddenly feeling young herself. "We were that age too, once. Only they dress better. Bye-bye."

"You have a generous nature," the owner said proudly. "I like that in a person."

He thrust out his hand. "I'm Max."

"I'm Lucy, hello." She shook his hand then dropped her gaze to a beautiful white dog by Max's side. 

"That's my dog; Thorn."

"Hi, Thorn."

"Say 'hello', Thorn." He turned his attention back to Lucy, obviously interested in her. He clapped his hands together. "So how may I help you this evening? We have it all. The best selection of video tapes in Santa Carla."

"Oh, I'm not looking for a tape," Lucy said, scrunching her nose up a little. "What I need is, um…"

"…a job?" Max filled in, filled with hope. Finally, he could take down his advert looking for a part time sales assistant. And plus, Lucy was absolutely perfect.

"A job." Lucy nods. "Yes. I look that needy, huh?"

---

"Where are we going?" Alex asked Carter, as they pushed and squeezed their way through the busy boardwalk crowd. Alex was unhappy he was missing the concert. _Carter is never happy unless he gets his way_, Alex thought angrily. 

"Nowhere." Carter replied, frustrated. 

"So what's the rush?" 

Suddenly, Alex remembered the two blonde females. He laughed under his breath. 

"You're chasing one of those girls aren't ya?" Alex inquired, suddenly finding some amusement out of having Carter's tight hand dragging him up and down the Boardwalk. Plus, he remembered the girl with the straighter blonde hair. He hoped it wasn't her that Carter was intoxicated with. 

"Come on, come on! Admit it, you're chasing one of them! Which one?"

"What makes you think you'd get either?" Carter replied, even though he would never touch the other girl with a bargepole. 

"Who said I was chasing them. You're the one pulling me."

  
"Oh don't be a fuckin' smart-ass."

"I'm at the mercy of your sex glands bud."

_Right, that's it!_

Carter stopped dragging Alex with him. He had lost his cool, it wouldn't only be moments before he snapped completely.

"Piss off, Browning! Don't you have anything else to do but follow me around all night?"

"Don't you fucking try to ditch me, Carter or…"

Alex stopped short, glancing upwards and seeing he was standing right outside a huge comic book store. Oh, how he LOVED comics! 

  
"Or what, Browning? You'll tell mommy?"

Alex ignored him and grinned. "Something better to do? Just found it, pal." 


	4. Chapter Two

**Final Destination Meets The Lost Boys**

**_The Cici Academy Would Like To Thank: _**_My usual, lovely reviewers: Dharke and 277…where are you Scribble! I reckon it's time Sparky made a comeback. First off, Dharke…love your reviews, so detailed! Me try to get on your good side? What's that…? Well, this time I did mention Lycans…albeit in one sentence…will that take you out of sulking? (Imagines Hawk sulking) Nup didn't think so. There's not so much Carter in this (chapter three will make up for it!), so I apologise in advance for the A/C stuff…I know you'll wanna spew up last night's meal but I need to set up the A/C interaction, Damnit! An explosion at the comic book store? Nah, best you can hope for is Toddie and Baseball cap boy…being dorks! And 277 needs to be more constructive in reviews…naw, only joking…I LOVE ALL REVIEWS!_

**Chapter Two**

Alex walked into the crowded comic book store. Posters of several franchises were adorned on the walls: _Batman_, _Superman_, _Buffy the Vampire Slayer_ and, of course, Alex's personal favourite, _X Men_. Heading straight over to the movie section, Alex was within several inches of touching a comic when he clocked a young teenager, wearing a backwards baseball cap, watching him closely. Alex picked up the comic, deliberately trying to piss the teen off. Feeling a little nervous, Alex felt another pair of eyes on him. He saw another boy with brown hair and a slightly weird shaped head, sorting out other comics but keeping a firm eye on the newcomer.

Alex put down his comic and started to walk away. He got within yards of the exit when the two boys closed in on him.

"Got a problem guys?"

"Just scooping your civilian wardrobe," said the brown-haired lad. 

"Pretty cool huh?"

"For a fashion victim." Said the square jawed baseball capped one. 

"You're one to talk; baseball caps went out of fashion years ago."

"Listen buddy, if you're looking for the diet frozen yoghurt bar it went out of business last summer."

"The name's Alex, you'd do well to learn it."

The boy with the baseball cap looked at the other with a confused expression upon his face. The brown haired lad nodded to his friend. Alex knew that must have signalled some sort of an agreement. 

"I'm Billy and this is my step brother, Tod. We own this place. Interested in comics, uh?"

"I'm looking for an _X Men_ no.14. Centered around Wolverine."

"That's a very serious book man," Tod replied.

"Only five in existence," Billy interjected. 

"_Four_ actually." Correct Alex. "I'm always looking out for the other three. " 

Alex turned to his left, noticing the _Superman_ isle. 

_Aww, man this is wrong! Horribly wrong!_

"You can't put the _Superman_ no.77 with the 200s," Alex said, picking up a copy. "Red kryptonite hasn't been discovered." Placing that down, he picked up another. "And you, uh, can't put the no.98s with the 300's…Lori Lemaris hasn't even been introduced."

Tod glared at Billy, his eyes widening. Billy elbowed his stepbrother in the gut, forcing Tod to clutch at his stomach.  

"I told you they were in the wrong place, dude!" he muttered, obviously embarrassed. Feeling cocky, Billy turned to Alex, tapping him on the shoulder. "Where are _YOU_ from? Krypton?"

"Phoenix, actually. But luckily, my cousin and I moved…here."

Alex stopped short, feeling a slight shiver down his back. At the very front of the store, he clocked a beautiful sight. It was the blonde haired girl Carter had seen earlier. Noticing that she wasn't the one with the curls, Alex knew immediately his luck could be in. His sudden change in attention forced a desire to pull of a quick, but hasty exit. 

Alex turned to walk up the aisle to go and introduce himself to the blonde, but Billy quickly followed him. Tod picked up a comic and caught up with the boys. He thrust a comic into Alex's hand. 

"Here, take this."

Alex took one look at it. On the front, was a well-drawn sketch of a vampire. It's hand stretched out at Alex, as if enticing him to read the comic. Alex pushed it back in Tod's direction.

"I don't like horror comics."

"You'll like this one Mr Phoenix." Tod replied, handing it back to Alex. "It could save your life." 

Alex glanced up to the front of the store, checking to see if the girl was still there. She was. However, now she wasn't alone. Surrounding her were a few other girls, they were all chatting and giggling over some comics. To the right of them, Alex saw several others huddled around one of the stalls. They were pushing and shoving amongst themselves. Suddenly, the bushy eye browed leader snatched up several comics and began stashing them into his pocket. 

Billy was first to notice before Tod. Billy shouted out: "HEY!" 

The guy looked up, startled by Billy's cry, and he and his mates attempted to make run for it. At the same time, the blonde girl had begun to make her exit but the brushy browed one barged right into her, knocking her to the floor, trying to escape. Tod and Billy quickly took after the thieves while Alex rolled up the comic and shoved it in his back pocket and quickly made his way over to the girl. 

He stood in front of her and offered out his hand. 

"Here, lemme help you." 

The girl looked up at him, and smiled a coy smile at him. She took his outstretched hand and he pulled her to her feet. Alex noticed that she was a little taller than him, slim and had what seemed to be perfectly placed blonde hair. 

"Sorry about those assholes," Alex apologised. 

"Oh it's alright," she replied. "I'm used to being trodden all over. I new around here; don't seem to be that visible to people."

"I don't see how." Alex said, a goofy grin spreading across his face. Damn, his flirting skills were bad. He didn't want her to see that. 

"You're very sweet." She told him. Alex gave a modest smile. "I'm Clear."

"Clear? That's uh…"

"Yes, a little eccentric, huh?"

"No, that wasn't what I was gonna say."

"Oh don't worry about it. My parents…kinda hippies if you wanna call 'em that."

Alex had forgotten his manners in all this. "I'm Alex, by the way."

"Nice name. So Alex, have you lived here long?"

"No, actually I just moved here with my cousin."

"Your cousin, huh? Is he around?" Clear asked. "What's he like?"

Alex now seemed a little uneasy. Here he was, thinking he had scored with this girl, and now she was asking him about Carter. _What if she likes him…?_

"Carter? Oh, he was. I-I mean, he was here. But you don't wanna meet him."

"I don't?" she asked, now confused. "Why's that?"

"He's not really a nice guy, at all. Listen, you wanna get something to eat…?" Alex asked, changing the subject away from Carter. How was it the sheer mention of the ex-jock's name made every girl he had ever spoke to want to meet him? Was 'Carter' a babe-magnet name…? Well probably more so than 'Alexander'. Alex smacked himself mentally. 

Clear waved her hand at Alex. "You know, I'd love to, really I would…but my friends are I are off down to the beach for some late night partying…"

"Come on Clear!" one of her friends yelled, causing Alex to look desperately at the blonde. Maybe she would ask him to come. Or maybe she wouldn't. Alex didn't want to push his luck.

"Maybe I'll see you around then…?" he asked, leaving an open-ended question. 

Clear gave Alex a look, which definitely told him he would indeed see her again. A red head approached Clear from behind and grabbed her hands. 

"Come on Rivers, Zach's truck is about ready to go!" 

And with that she was pulled away out into the street. Alex rushed out to the exit and watched her leave. The blonde turned her head and flashed him a flirtatious grin, physically causing Alex's stomach to churn. He was mesmerised. 

---

Carter stood outside the entrance to the Boardwalk, hoping that the blonde would soon reappear, and hopefully minus the brat. Sighing, he leaned against a park bench and pulled back his sleeve to glance at his watch. Almost 11.45pm. He groaned inwardly, remembering his mom saying something about being home before 12am. Why was he always treated like such a kid…? 

Just then, the curly blonde haired girl stepped out from the busy crowd, exiting the Boardwalk. Close up time, Carter assumed. His heart perked up at the very sight of her, but began to sink as she was with the little boy. And just like the Titanic, his heart hit an iceberg. She walked directly punk and five punkers, sitting outside at the motorcycle lock up. The little boy hopped on the back of one motorcycle and Carter was intrigued to see which one of the bikers was her boyfriend. 

He got his answer as she climbed directly onto the back of the peroxide blond's motorbike. Alex also exited the Boardwalk, looking somewhat forlorn. Not that Carter cared, and turned his attention back to the scene unfolding before his eyes. And then, she looked at Carter. Directly in the eye, recognizing him immediately. She smiled brightly at him, obviously liking what she was seeing. Carter felt his lip muscles reacting, and he gave back a somewhat half-hearted smile. Then it was the peroxide blond's turn to look at him. He saw Carter checking out his girl, and shook his head slightly before smirking at Carter. 

He revved up the bike's engine, and one by one the bikers took off, from left to right. The girl and the peroxide blond were last to leave. As they tore into the night, the girl turned her head to glance back in Carter's direction, wanting to get a good look at his face. Her way of saying 'goodbye'.

Alex had watched the whole scene unfold, and walked up to his cousin, a wide goofy grin on his face. "Come on, she stiffed ya!" 

"Oh yeah, well I don't see you with any hot babe, Browning." He spat, not in the mood to challenge his plank-headed cousin. 

"Wait and see bud," Alex grinned, rolling the comic book in his hands. "Wait and see."

---

Kimberly glanced at the digital clock on the dashboard of Burke's car. 2am. She turned her attention back to the comic he had stolen for her. She wasn't at all impressed with the way he went about getting it for her, but she read it nonetheless. She even found humour in it and began to giggle at certain sketches inside. Or maybe the giggling was put on from the fact that Burke was sitting behind her, doing an intimate job on her neck. Annoyed, she swatted him away. 

Burke wasn't taking no for an answer. He was randy as hell. Plus, with his FBI exam due someday soon, he felt like a nice relaxing sex session would calm him. Kimberly was having none of it. Not giving up, he tried again, going to claim the same spot on her neck. Just then she jumped away from his touch, startled even more so than before.

"What is it?" Burke asked her. 

"What was that?" She replied, posing Burke her own question.

"What was what?"

"I thought I heard something, Tommy."

"Forget it, babe…"

As he claimed her lips within his, forcing passion onto her, the metal roof of Burke's car was suddenly ripped off clean, and the cold wind from outside bustled its way into the car. Startled by the initial impact, Burke thought a vicious tornado was coming to sweep them away. Papers from the comic started fluttering everywhere, threatening to block his view. Only when he heard Kimberly's shriek, he knew this was not a tornado. Trying to reach for his gun, he was rapidly swept up into the night air, by someone or _something_…

"Kim!" he shouted down to her, as he was dragged away by an unknown assailant. Kimberly screamed again, seeing her fiancé being torn away from her. Her screams only grew louder as the unidentified assailants returned and swept her into the air as well. Her screams cut through the silent night sky like a knife. 

---

Dust threatened to cloud Alex's vision as Grandpa Horton roughly jerked back the garage doors. Obviously, it hadn't been opened in quite a while. _How does he get anything done around here? _He thought. 

Staring Alex in the face was a light blue 1950's Chevy, unscratched and in mint condition. 

"How do you like that baby?" Grandpa Horton cooed with admiration. 

Alex wasn't really into cars – that was usually Carter's area of expertise. But he knew a classic car when he saw one. 

"It's a beauty."

"Come on, let's get in!" 

Alex clenched one fist in excitement, preparing to drive the Chevy.

"Can I drive on the way back?"

"Fat chance!" the older man said, dismissing Alex immediately with his tone of voice. "Nobody drives this baby but me!"

Grandpa Horton bent down, opening his car door just like Alex on the opposite side. Alex jumped in but it took the older male a little bit longer to sit himself down properly. Once ready, the key was inserted into the slot and the car was ignited; ready to go. Grandpa pressed his foot down on the accelerator and the engine roared with velocity and venom. 

"We have to let it warm up a little." He revved it again. "You hear that Alex? Like a baby pussy cat." 

A quick silence followed before Grandpa declared: "Okay! Let's go to town!"

Alex grinned, clicking his seat belt into place. Alex expected the car to slowly but carefully move down the driveway but instead, the engine was shut off completely. At first, Alex had thought the car had stalled, seeing as it hadn't been used outdoors much. Then when he heard the opposite car door slam shut, he knew Carter's grandfather was out of the vehicle.

"I thought we were going to town?" Alex asked perplexed.

"Well, that's as close to town as I like to get." The old man snorted in disgust and walked out of the garage, leaving Alex to his own devices. He couldn't exactly watch TV now, could he?

"Total weirdo man," he finalised to himself, concluding his thoughts on the older Horton. Guess he was walking to town after all…

---

Billy was sitting watching _The A Team_ on cable. Due to conventional low afternoon comic sales, he expected not to see the usual rush they frequently got at nighttime. His eyes drooped as sleep tried to worm its way into his system. He managed to have his eyes shut for roughly ten seconds before he was jabbed in the arm by Tod. He looked up, startled at the rough contact but then looked surprised as he followed Tod's gaze to the kid, Alex - from last night – who had just strolled in. 

Alex clocked their attention immediately, an idea springing into his head. He walked over to the _Superman_ section once again, to see if the boys had properly arranged the comics the way they ought to be. He picked up a copy, tried to look less obvious and flicked through several pages. 

"Notice anything _unusual_ about Santa Carla yet?" a voice asked. 

Alex looked up to see Tod and Billy standing right in front of him, eyeing him carefully. The emphasis on the word 'unusual' flickered interest in Alex, and he wondered what Tod had meant by that. He started to exit the _Superman_ isle, to come around to the side the brothers were on. 

"A pretty cool place, if you're a Martian." Alex deadpanned. 

"Or a vampire." Billy argued back. 

_Vampire?_ Alex thought. _Someone's been watching too much Underworld._ He half expected Tod to chip in with lycans too, or fucking aliens even but nothing of those sorts surfaced. Alex took it upon himself to react.

"Are you guys sniffing on old newsprint or something?"

Billy wasn't standing for any of this mockery bullshit. "You think you know what's happening here, don't you? Well lemme tell you: you don't know shit buddy. You just think we work in a comic book store to raise money for our folks, huh?"

"Actually, I thought it was a bakery."

"Enough with the mocking, man…" Tod challenged, somewhat disgruntled with Alex's manner. He glanced over to his sleeping father and step mom, who were off in dreamland. Alex glanced over too and raised his eyebrows as if to question what Tod was going to do about it. 

_Okay, so that did no threatening whatsoever_, Tod reasoned with himself, feeling such an idiot. 

"This is just our cover," said Billy, stepping closer to Alex, Tod closing in quickly from behind.

"We're dedicated to a higher purpose: we're fighters for truth, justice…and the American way."

Alex cocked an eyebrow at the capped one, and began to get serious about it all. "Riiiight."

"Read this!" Billy demanded, and shoved a comic into Alex's hand. Another horror.

"I told you, I don't like horror comics," he said and politely declined the offer of a free comic by pushing the comic out of his hands and back into Billy's. However, the square jawed one thrust it straight back into his hands. 

"Think of it more as a survival manual." Tod advised.

"Survival? For what?"

Tod ignored the question. "There's our number on the back. And pray, you never need to call us."

"Okay," Alex said sarcastically. "I'll pray that I'll never need to call ya, sure." 

As he turned to leave he saw Clear standing outside the comic book store entrance. His annoyance at the brothers' slightly crazy warnings of vampires had quickly disseminated from his mind now that she was near. From behind, he could hear Tod and Billy arguing over why Billy insisted on giving away comics for free…

"We've had enough break-ins as it is and you're fucking practically _handing_ them out?" Tod screeched from behind. 

Wanting to save his ears from the verbal fight that was due to follow, Alex walked over to where the blonde was standing, looking quiet sultry and alluring. 

"You handled that well," Clear praised, squinting past Alex to watch the stepsiblings argue. Alex turned in time to see Billy smack Tod around the head. That at least, shut him up. 

"So you decided to come back." Alex said, smiling. 

"Can't stay away from potential pursuits now can I? I'm a sucker for a cute face."

Alex was trying to get this right in his head. Was she coming on to him? Was he really a "potential pursuit"? Carter would laugh at such a thought; probably be at home laughing at the very thought right now if he knew. Alex was never really good with girls. Hot ones at that.

"Where's your friend?" Alex asked, changing the subject. "From last night, curly blonde hair…?"

Clear shifted her position against the doorframe, "Oh, she's around. Probably at her boyfriend's right now." 

Alex saw the change of tone in her voice, as if talking about her friend was unsettling. But Alex perked up on the word "boyfriend"…oh Carter would not be pleased. Even if last night's viewing of the girl getting on the motorcycle with that biker was a one off…

"Listen, I'm going back to the house just now. You want to come and meet Carter?"

"But last night, you said I probably wouldn't want to."

"Yeah, that's true, I did say that…" Alex replied scratching his head, dumbfounded. 

"I'm not in the habit of going home with strange boys," Clear said, cocking an eyebrow at him. 

"And who are we talking about now?" Alex responded, trying to make a joke out of it. Damn, perhaps he was being a little _too_ forward. Any further, and he'd be flat on his face, and she would be laughing at him. "So how about it?"

"Alright, sure. Why not? Let's meet the infamous Carter."

"If he's nasty, which _is_ more than likely," Alex advised, "don't say I didn't warn ya."


	5. Chapter Three

**Final Destination Meets The Lost Boys**

**_The Cici Academy Would Like To Thank:_**_ my review for the last instalment, courtesy of Dharke. Heh, 'dirty Cici'. Has a ring to it, uh? So you liked laughing at the Alex/Clear/Tod/Billy scenes then uh? I'm glad. I aim to fill you with a range of emotions. Me describe Clear too glamorously? For me that's impossible. What, you didn't know I loved Ali Larter? Shame on you! Ok, I've promised a lot more Carter scenes in this chapter. I find him the easiest to write out of all FD characters, he's very enjoyable to write about. Also, this chapter starts to bring out my A/C fluff/corn, yay! I love writing those two. So if you're not a romantic or Dharke, look away now…or read, just a little hint: have the sick bucket handy…oh and btw, it felt great to kill of Chimberly and Officer Irritating in chapter two…whooo! _

**Chapter Three**

Carter needed to get out of that dingy little excuse for a house. Alex was right about there being nothing to do without a television. And Carter seldom watched television. But Santa Carla was quite possibly the most boring place Carter Horton ever had the misfortune to know existed. The Boardwalk was Santa Carla's only true, redeeming feature. He had decided that the best way to bide your time was to attend the nightly fair. Of course, if biding your time was looking around for a hot blonde with curly hair. Carter longed to see her again.

It was around 7pm when Alex had returned from the comic book store; just as Carter was leaving to attend the Boardwalk. It amused Carter that Alex had managed to bring home a stray dog…well rather, a girl. She was a tall, slim girl and Carter just recognised her as the very friend of his crush. She didn't interest him in the slightest, but as Carter had left for the boardwalk, he mentally smacked himself for forgetting to ask her if she knew where her friend might be. 

Carter had been at the Boardwalk for over an hour, searching for the mysterious girl. But with no luck: he glanced at his wristwatch. _I'll give it another half hour_. Walking around the fair, Carter had spotted a stall selling leather jackets. Maybe he could get her attention by wearing a biker's jacket…well, it had worked for the guy who had got lucky enough to get _her_. Carter didn't really give a shit what kind of jacket he'd buy, as long as it fitted and caught her attention. He found the saleswoman to be very helpful, as she had picked out a gorgeous brown jacket. Carter tried it on and checked himself out in the vertical mirror beside the saleswoman.

"Looks great on you."

Carter dug his hand into his back pocket, revealing his cash. 

"You think so?" he replied, handing the woman her money. 

She smiled warmly. "Definitely. Enjoy."

Carter nodded his thanks. "Keep the change." 

He fixed the lapels of his jacket and stepped out into the pulsating teenage crowd. The jacket felt good on him and he had to wonder if it would be enough to catch her eye. Passing another stall, Carter saw a huge, burly, bald tattooed man piercing a young girl's ear. Transfixed, he watched the man execute his trade. 

_Did those punks have an earring?_ Carter mused. _Or should I go for the pierced eyebrow…?_ He wanted to stand out from all those other guys and he had always secretly wanted to get one of his eyebrows done. 

Beside the man stood the mother of the little girl, who was roughly six years old, and soothed calming words into her ears. "Don't worry it won't hurt…it won't." 

Carter subconsciously raised his hand to his left eyebrow and traced his finger along it, getting into the idea of a pierced eyebrow. Carter then felt someone hovering over his shoulder. If it was some punk wanting to get in ahead of him, he had another thing coming. 

"It's a rip off."

Carter turned to look the guy in the eye, not picking up on the fact that the voice did indeed belong to a woman. _Hey, bitch…_ was his initial reaction and then his eyes widened in shock. There she was, the fit curly blonde girl he had first become infatuated with the previous night.

"If you want your ear pierced I'll do it."

She began to walk away from him, teasingly and he grinned with anticipation, following her elegant body into the crowd. 

"Who said it was my ear I wanted pierced?" Carter replied, turning on the Horton charm. His eyes travelled down her back and were firmly planted on her butt. _Down boy_, Carter reprimanded himself. His eyes travelled up the length of her body once again. She was quite exquisite. 

"What's your name?"

"Whatever you want it to be."

Carter had to give her credit for that smooth answer. Playing hard to get. He liked that. 

"I'm Carter."

"Carter's nice, I like Carter." The nameless beauty said, repeating Carter's name on her lips. _Who are you_? Carter questioned himself. 

"I'm Terry." She replied, as if reading his thoughts. "But I could have easily been named some dorky name like Clear."

"Is that your friend?" Carter asked, remembering the blonde who was now back at his house with Alex. Probably torturing the little freak. Or possibly, something else. Carter shuddered at the imagery…the thought of Alex getting some over him, would be enough to give Carter a seizure. 

"Mmmhmm." The blonde replied, turning to face Carter while walking backwards. 

"Isn't that a bit shallow? Making fun of your best friend?"

"I suppose. Clear's great, you know. We get on so well, but sometimes I wonder who the fuck her parents were. I mean who names their kid 'Clear' anyway?"

"Hippies." Carter responded, making his comment sound more like a statement rather than a question. She did have that hippy-ish look about her, though. "I mean, I came this close to being called 'Moon Beam' or 'Mood Child'…something like that." Carter joked, trying to calm his speeding heart. "But I think Terry's a great name."

"Me too."

"You wanna get something to eat?" he asked her, hoping he didn't sound too forward. Hell, Alex practically shoving his comic book obsession in Clear's face made Carter look subtler by comparison. 

"Sure."

Carter motioned his head to the motorcycle parking lot, showing Terry where his bike was situated. Terry followed, watching as the attractive youth got on his bike. Just then, a multitude of revving motorcycle engines filled the vicinity of the secluded parking area. Terry turned her head to see her punk boyfriend, David, and his cronies completely surrounding Carter and herself. 

"Where you going Terry?" he asked, giving Carter an accusing glare. Carter kept his head down and focused on starting up his motorcycle. 

"For a ride." Terry responded, the fun tone she had adopted earlier was now completely non-existent. Carter looked reluctantly at the bikers. He couldn't take them all on at once, could he? 

"David, this is Carter. Carter; David."

"Lets go." Carter said, keeping his eyes from David's glare, not wanting to start a ruckus with the punks. Not that he was afraid or anything like that…he would just be so…outnumbered. 

She turned and proceeded to get on the back of Carter's bike when David's voice interrupted. 

"Terry." He said firmly. Carter watched in dismay as the blonde dismounted herself from his bike and walked impatiently over to David's bike. He smirked hungrily at Carter, knowing he had lost this particular battle. 

"You know where Hudson's Bluff is, overlooking the Point?" 

Carter rolled his eyes then returned the smirk, declining the punk's obvious challenge of a race. "I can't beat your bike."

David's smirk dropped. "You don't have to _beat_ me, Carter." He replied innocently, revving his engine in an apparent tough, winning gesture to a frustrated looking Terry.  

"You just have to try and keep up." 

Before Carter's very eyes, the bikers began to disband from the protective circle they had made earlier and charge their way down the Boardwalk. Carter revved his own engine and followed in pursuit.

Coming to the stairs that exited the Boardwalk, David and his pals raced down them without a care, but Carter almost brought his bike to a halt. _I'm gonna kill myself trying to get down these fuckers_. But all he could think about was Terry, and winning her from that egotistic son of bitch. Carter was far too blinded by love to see that David was just like him. In all retrospect: manner, charm, aggressiveness and talent. Sighing to himself, knowing this was going to be a long night, Carter threw caution into the wind and charged his bike down the stairs and onto the beach, trailing the bikers. 

Within minutes, of interrupting parties on the beach and weaving in and out of a mini forest, Carter had caught up with David, the bikers and Terry. Carter's bike seemed to take on a life of it's own, and within seconds, he had surpassed the bikers and was in hot pursuit of David and Terry. However, a thick mist threatened to cloud Carter's vision. He could hardly see what was in front of him, but he could just make out David, laughing in delight. Coming closer and closer to the cliff's edger, Carter zoomed ahead but was surprised by David slowing down. And as soon as the fog began to clear up, Carter realised he had almost driven himself off the Bluff!

He pulled the breaks and his tyres screeched to a halt. The stop was so abrupt that Carter was tossed over the handlebars of his bike and onto the gritty ground. Dusting himself off and clearing his eyes, Carter glanced up at David who was now completely smirking at him. Rage filled Carter, and the ex-jock was quickly up on his feet, racing towards David in blind fury. Carter executed a perfect right hook onto David's cheek and the peroxide blond pulled his head away, shielding himself from any more impact.

"What the fuck's your game, asshole?!" Carter challenged angrily. He expected David to turn around and hit him back, but instead that glaring, cocky smirk remained on his unharmed features. 

"Just you." Carter demanded, prepared to take David in a fight. He didn't want his punks ganging up on him. "Come on! Fight me you fuck! Come on! Just you!"

"How far are you willing to go on this, Carter?" he quipped mercilessly, ignoring Carter's threats. 

---

The gang had taken Carter to their underground hideout, several hundred yards below Hudson's Bluff at the shore. The hideout looked more like a gothic mine, several feet below ground. At first, Carter thought it was some sort of bomb shelter, but judging by several gaping holes and hollow walls a bomb shelter it was not. Carter glanced around the lair in awe. 

"Not bad, huh?" David said, not failing to notice the look of appreciation on the newcomer's face. "This was the hottest resort in Santa Carla, about eighty-five years ago. Too bad they built it on default. In 1906, when the big one hit San Fran, the ground opened up, this place took a header right into the crack. And now it's ours."

"So check it out!" Paul announced, perhaps a little too high-pitched. 

"Marko!" David shouted, snapping his fingers. The curly blond lad approached him, as if awaiting instructions. "Food?" Marko nodded and made his way up the stairs and exited the lair. David turned to Carter. 

"I love this place. You ask; and then you get." David shoved his hand into one of the pockets of his black duster, and revealed a joint. "Appetiser?" Carter raised his eyebrow at the leader cautiously. Without saying a word, Carter took the roll up from David's gloved hand but never once put the drug to his mouth. 

"You'll like it here Carter." David enthused, squeezing his shoulders. Carter glanced up at Terry who had a somewhat disheartened look on her lovely features. Carter just hoped she was worth it. 

---

"So do you like living here in Santa Carla?" 

"Well, I've only been here a day…no wait, make that two days now." 

Alex had taken Clear back to his house to meet Carter and his Aunt Lucy. Carter never really said much except grunt some sort of 'hello' to Clear on this way out to the Boardwalk while Lucy seemed more interested, asking Clear about her folks and the regular sort of thing inquired about on first meetings. Alex loved his Aunt as if she were his own mother and was quite relived she had seemed to take a genuine interest. Alex really liked Clear and he was hoping she felt the same way. She was quite taken with Nanook, Alex's dog. The two of them were sitting on his bed, just talking and finding out about each other's likes and dislikes. They really seemed to connect on a level Alex thought was impossible to achieve. And here was Alex thinking he would be bored without a television. 

_Screw TV_, Alex thought excitedly. Several comics were open and scattered around them and Nanook was situated comfortably across Clear's lap. Alex refused to have Carter's dog, Prince, in his room. He was more of an aggressive dog, and Alex truly thought the dog hated him with vengeance. One thing could be said of Prince; he was _definitely_ his master's dog. 

"You've got quite a cool 'hut' house thing going on here," Clear enthused. 

"Tell that to Carter," Alex interjected, "he hates this place. His home, back in Phoenix is ten times bigger than this." 

"So how come you guys ended up here?"

"Aunt Lucy's just divorced my Uncle Rob, Carter's dad. I've been living with them for most of my life since my parents died."

"Oh, I'm sorry." Clear sympathised.

"Nah, you don't have to be," Alex replied. "I was only three years old when they were killed, so I never really knew them that well to get even remotely attached. What about your parents? You said they live out in Atlanta."

"Yeah, they do. I kinda moved out here with Terry last year, we just wanted our own independence away from Georgia. Not much to do there and not much to stay for, either."

"So…" Alex mused, suddenly at a loss for words. He smiled as he dismissed the question from his own head before even asking it. Clear saw this.

"What?" she asked him, smiling back him. 

"It's nothing." Alex said, dismissing her. 

"No, it's alright, you can ask me."

"I told you, it's nothing, not important."

"Alex, you'll never know unless you ask me. You might get the answer you're looking for."

"Well…" Alex's eyes shot downwards as he felt his face begin to redden. "…you said there wasn't much to stay in Georgia for…so I take it that means you don't or didn't…"

"…Have a boyfriend?" she finished for him. 

"Yeah." 

"I did," Clear continued. "But like I said, it was nothing. He wasn't anything special and was not worth staying around for." She looked Alex square in the eyes. "How come you're so interested?" she asked nonchalantly, as if she didn't know what he was trying to achieve in asking her. 

"No reason." He replied quickly; perhaps a little too quickly. God, he was so bad at this. He made a mental note to ask Carter for the etiquette to successful flirting when he got home. Alex kept his gaze on Clear for several seconds, trying to figure out what was going on behind those absorbing blue eyes of hers. He was completely drawn into her visage, perhaps a little too much to even realise that he was inching nearer to her every couple of seconds. His lips were several, agonising inches away from hers and just when he was sure that kissing her was what he wanted to do, his bedroom door opened quickly and Clear jumped away from him instantly. It was his Aunt Lucy.

"Oh hi Clear, still here?"

"W-what? Oh yeah, still here." She smiled sparsely at the unwanted presence Lucy was making. Alex felt the same way too. _Great timing_, he thought grimly.

"I just came up here to see if…"

Suddenly, a wailing noise interrupted Lucy and she almost dropped the laundry from her hands in complete surprise. Alex too had almost fallen off his bed, upon seeing Grandpa Horton enter the room, wailing like a monster. Alex pitied Clear for a few minutes, wondering if she was thinking about how weird this family seemed to be. And Alex didn't want her to get the wrong impression. 

"Oh dad!" Lucy declared, "You shouldn't sneak up on people like that!" 

"Brought something to dress up your room with Alex!" Grandpa Horton announced enthusiastically. _Great, _Alex thought. _What now?_

From behind the old man's back, he produced a freshly stuffed Beaver. Alex's eyes widened in complete embarrassment, while Clear screwed up her nose in distaste. The old man walked to the bedside table at Alex's bed and placed the dead animal on top of it. 

"Uh, thanks?" Alex replied, trying not to question this rather strange decoration. He smiled, trying to put on his most appreciative face, for his Aunt's sake. 

"Lots more where he came from." Said Grandpa Horton. "Good night, Alex." 

"Night Grandpa." Alex replied, watching the old man leave the room. 

"I should really get going too," Clear announced, and Alex turned just in time to see her glancing at her wristwatch. 11pm. "Terry'll be wondering where I am."

"It was nice meeting you, Clear." Lucy summarised. 

"Yes, and you too Mrs Horton."

"Please," the elder woman interrupted, "call me Lucy."

Clear nodded, taking in the polite gesture. Alex faced her. "I'll see you to the door." 

"Goodnight, Lucy."

"Take care, Clear."

---

Downstairs, Alex was apologising for the strange event that had transpired upstairs. A cold breeze was settling in around the exterior of the house, but Alex didn't want to shut the door on what seemed to be his only chance at romance.

"I'm sorry about that," Alex said, uncomfortably pushing his hands into the back pockets of his jeans. "You just never know what'll happen in this house. And when." He laughed nervously.

  
Clear smiled at his weak joke. "Don't worry, all relatives are like that."

"So…will I see you again?"

"Why wouldn't you?"

"I dunno, really. I thought that would've put you off."

"Put me off what? You?"

"Y-yes." Alex stammered surprisingly. Stammering wasn't something Alex did often. Not unless he was under intense pressure or agonising over some class test. 

"Well, it didn't." Clear replied, "So you don't have to worry about that."

"Will we get to finish this?"

"Are you asking me out on a date, Alex?"

Alex smiled sheepishly. "I might be." 

She laughed, trying to make him feel a little more at ease. "I might like it."

"I'm sure you will. I-I mean, I didn't mean it like _that_." Alex sighed, closing his eyes in frustration. What a complete arrogant idiot he was being. "That sounded pretentious, I'm sorry."

"It's okay, really." Clear reassured him. "You're coming across as quite endearing. I had fun tonight."

"Me too."

There was an awkward silence between the two that seemed to last like a lifetime for Alex. He wasn't sure what to say to her. Give her his number. Ask for hers. Offer to walk her home. All three seemed like a rational end to their night. 

"I never did answer your question." Clear suddenly announced, startling Alex out of his musings. 

"What question was that?" Alex enquired, mind suddenly blank. Her striking looks could possibly give him amnesia. Apparently, it already had. 

"'Will we get to finish this?'" she repeated his question, word for word. 

Alex perked up. "And…? Will we?"

He got his answer in the form of a sweet, chaste kiss on the cheek. Startled her looked at her, revelling in her actions. 

"I'll take that as a yes, then." 

"You do that," Clear responded. "Because that's what it is. See you, Alex."

"Yeah. See you." 

She gave him a lingering glance before disappearing down the steps and into the darkness. 

---

Upstairs, Alex walked into his room and crashed down on his bed. He closed his eyes, sighing distractedly. He had just scored himself a dream date. A date with the most mysterious girl he had ever the pleasure to know. Opening his eyes, he glanced at Grandpa Horton's freaky gift sitting atop his nightstand. Disturbed by the creature, he turned away from it and picked up an _X Men_ comic. Flicking through the pages, he couldn't shake the feeling that the stuffed Beaver was watching him. He felt the obvious gaze on him and turned to look at it again. He sighed, frustrated and put the comic book face down. He didn't want this 'gift' spoiling his good mood. With both hands he picked up the still creature and studied it.

"You're history, buddy." He declared and took the stuffed animal over to his clothes wardrobe. Opening the door, he shoved it inside, not caring whether it landed upright or on its head. He just wanted the creepy creature 'art' away from him…


	6. Chapter Four

**Final Destination Meets The Lost Boys**

**_The Cici Academy Would Like To Thank:_**_ Dharke…appreciated, as always. Wow. Almost twenty different emotions – you really felt it, uh? And you are SO wrong on the pages front…actually, that chapter totalled 8 pages on MS Word. 4 of them were Carter and the other 4 were Alex/Clear…and this chapter, wow, it's 10 pages…and every page has Carter! Let this cheer you up then.  *tongue*.  And for the last time: Cici not going soft on A/C! Just you wait until the next chapter! Heheh. I like to threaten, but when I get around to writing chapter five, I'll probably change my mind again…I'm so fickle. _

_And hello to a new reviewer - _**_Nickolaus Pacione_**_ – it's always good to see someone new interested in my fics.  I like to get other's take on things…I classified this as a horror/parody. Okay, so maybe parody wasn't the correct word as all I've done is alter the Lost Boys characters for FD ones…I'm surprised at myself for coming up with original scenes that did not exist in TLB, never thought that one imaginable…and thank you for your kind comments regarding my imagination…_

**Chapter Four**

Carter sat directly opposite David in the underground cave. Marko had been gone for little over an hour, and time had seemed to slow right down. Carter had barely muttered more than a dozen words the whole time Marko was gone. The minutes seemed to tick by at an agonisingly slow pace. David had let him in on some more Santa Carla secrets in an attempt to keep Carter 'entertained'.  _Must like the sound of his own voice_ criticised the voice inside Carter's head. _What does Terry see in him?_

Glancing across behind David, Carter eyed the girl, her features semi-eclipsed by the shadows. She herself had not said a single word after they had arrived and that, in turn, made Carter feel uneasy. In the silence that followed, he watched her watch him. He tried to give her his best smile, however she didn't seem to react. A smile, any kind of smile – whether a grimace or smirk – was all Carter was looking for. For some reasons unknown to him, he had to wonder why she was so quiet. 

"Feeding time!" boomed Marko's voice, startling Carter slightly. Looking up to the cave entrance, he saw the punk dance down the rickety stairs; his hands completely occupied with Chinese take away bags. _Well, least they have good taste in food_ identified Carter. "Come and get it boys!"

"Chinese," noted David, taking a cardboard box from his mate. "Good choice." Those words echoed in Carter's ears. Jeez, was David reading his mind now? The blond turned his attention to Carter. "Guests first."

He leaned over, a box of rice in his gloved hand, and offered it to Carter. Carter eyed the box, then looked at David. 

"No." declining, Carter held up his hand. 

"What, you don't like rice?" responded David.

"Well, it's not that I don't…"

"Tell me Carter," interrupted David, somewhat rashly. "How could a billion Chinese people be wrong?" He smirked, his joke rousing a couple of laughs from Dwayne and Paul. Carter laughed half-heartedly, playing along. He reached over and took the box of rice from David, who sat back smugly. 

Picking up the chopsticks, Carter fished around the rice trying, unsuccessfully, to gather up a reasonable amount to eat. Carter was never a practical man, he would much rather prefer to eat his rice with a fork. It was like living in the dark ages – which pretty much explained the punk's underground lair. 

"How are those maggots?" David asked casually, watching the newcomer closely. It took Carter a second to realise that David was in fact talking to him. He glanced up at the peroxide punk, nodding his head in a manner that silently asked David to repeat himself.

"Maggots, Carter. You're eating maggots, how do they taste?"

A scowl appeared on Carter's handsome features. _Maggots?_ Had he heard that right? He glanced down into the box, expecting to see rice, but his eyes widened as he saw the rice moving…he _was_ eating maggots!

Carter gagged and began spitting out the remainder of the maggots in his mouth. The box dropped onto the floor, the chopsticks jingling on the ground. The punks burst out into hysterical laughter as Carter shoved his fingers in his mouth, trying to get rid of all things crawly. 

"Leave him alone," came Terry's voice, sounding surprisingly weak. 

Looking down to the container, Carter's eyes focused after his dizzy spell and he saw that the 'maggots' were rice once again. Feeling somewhat cheated and a little embarrassed, he glanced up at David, who had a solemn, regretful expression on his face. 

"Sorry about that. No hard feelings, uh?" 

Carter acknowledged his apology with a simple response: "No."

"Why don't you try some noodles?" 

Carter looked at the box David was offering him. One glance, and Carter felt sick. Inside this box was something worse than maggots…worms. Brown, slimy icky worms that made Carter's stomach tighten immediately into knots. He put a hand to his stomach to steady himself. Half dazed, Carter drawled sickly: "They're worms."

"What do you mean they're worms?!" David asked, incredulous. He grabbed the box from Carter and searched the box…picking up the chopsticks, Carter swallowed hard.

"Don't eat those…!"

Too late, David had put the 'worms' to his mouth and began eating. Focusing properly, Carter did see that it was noodles and not worms. David's cruel joke from before was obviously having major side effects. And now, everything food related that was offered to Carter would make him imagine gross concoctions. 

"They're only noodles, Carter." 

Carter winced. He didn't like how David kept repeating his name, as if not mentioning it would make him somehow forget it. He watched as David put the carton of noodles to the side.

"Leave him alone." Came Terry's voice, this time a lot firmer. From behind, Dwayne demanded she shut up. 

"Aww, shut up girl!"

Carter wanted to punch his lights out for the manner in which he had just spoken to Terry but instead remained silent, intrigued to see what would happen next. David snapped his fingers at Marko who approached him from behind. Leaning over, David whispered something into Marko's ears. Carter couldn't quite make it out as Marko came back just as quickly as he had went. He returned with a bottle of wine in his hands and handed it down to David, who was still seated. Carter leaned back as David popped the cork and pursed his lips, taking a giant swig. He pulled the bottleneck away from his face abruptly and shut his eyes in ecstasy. Carter watched him carefully, wondering what effects this 'wine' was having on him. 

Feeling his eyes on him, David opened his and looked Carter straight on. His mouth opened slowly and he offered the bottle to Carter.

"Drink some of this Carter," he requested faintly. "Be one of us."

_One of us?_ Carter looked at the others, who had now determined expressions on their faces. They started chorusing Carter's name, much like the cheerleaders had done back in Phoenix when Carter was the football team Captain. Terry removed herself from the shadows, wanting to intervene. She stood behind Carter as he accepted the bottle from David. He wanted to taste it. He wanted to get that powerful feeling David had experienced only minutes ago from the special tonic. 

"Don't." Terry warned quietly, "You don't have to Carter."

Carter began to draw the bottle to his mouth, but Terry laid a hand on his shoulder. Carter didn't even flinch at her contact. "It's blood."

Carter scoffed slightly, smirking at Terry. He wanted to taste the power David seemed to have. He wanted to become one of them just in order to get Terry. 

Whatever, _one of them_ was.

"Blood? Yeah, sure." And with that he put the bottle to his mouth and began to drink the wine. The delicious liquid poured into his mouth and he swallowed languorously, savouring the taste. Terry's hand dropped from his shoulder as she backed off, now clearly frightened that Carter had taken David's 'wine'. 

David applauded Carter's actions. "Bravo! You're alright Carter." He took his hand and shook it, giving him a slap on the back. He moved away as Paul stepped up to him, also slapping him on the back. "You're one of us, bud."

Terry disappeared further into the shadows, holding her little brother, Laddie, firmly within her grasp. _What have you done, Carter?_

---

Later that night, David, Marko, Dwayne and Paul took Carter out on a motorcycle trip. For several hours they roamed the quiet night streets, their engines now surely rousing the neighbourhood. The thrill of getting caught was exhilarating to Carter. He was relieved he had finally found some guys in this shitty town who were just like him: game for a laugh and daring in every aspect. Little did Carter know, that David had something even more daring planned for him…

The five motorcycles pulled up to an abandoned train station. The lads shut off their engines and departed from their bikes. Carter glanced around at his surroundings, feeling slightly cold. Thank god for his leather jacket, it was the only thing keeping him warm. The night air was calm but cold and Carter shivered slightly. A train's horn sounded in the distance and David grinned excitedly. 

"Perfect timing!"

"What's going on?" Carter asked.

"Carter wants to know what's going on," David announced to the group. "Marko: tell Carter what's 'going on'…"

"I don't know!" grinned Marko, glancing over at Paul. "What's 'going on', Paul?"

"Wait a minute," paused Paul playfully, hitting Dwayne on the arm. "Who wants to know?"

"Carter wants to know," Dwayne replied, shifting his head in his direction. Carter smirked. Suddenly, David stopped on the tracks, holding up his hand as a signal. Carter looked around, wanting to know what would happen next. He felt a little uneasy, seeing that this 'abandoned' station was still in function. He looked over the tracks to see that below what were, at best estimates, a two hundred foot drop into oblivion. 

"I think we should let Carter know what's going on. Marko?"

The blond turned to the youngest lad out of the four and Carter saw that he was standing on the edge of the platform. "Goodnight, Carter." And to Carter's shocked eyes, Marko jumped off the platform and down that drop into the mist below. "Bomb's away!"

"What the fuck…?" Carter muttered, inaudible to the others. 

Paul then approached the edge, turning to Carter who stood in disbelief. He gave him two very enthusiastic thumbs up. "Bottoms up, man!" he then dropped down as well. Dwayne also approached and he too, silently, dropped off the edge. Carter was incredulous. Were these guys out of their minds?!

"Come with us, Carter." David soothed, the sickly gesture making Carter's stomach flutter uneasily. He was a daring type of lad, but not _that_ daring. The blond jumped off as well and Carter flew himself to the edge of the tracks and peered down into the mist. He could hear laughing. It wasn't distant, it was close, and it belonged to the boys. Carter squinted slightly, trying to see for the obvious signs of life. 

Finally, Carter saw them, all five of them, dangling from the tracks, cheering and whooping in delight at the thrill. 

"Carter Horton; come on down!" rooted David. 

"Welcome aboard, Carter!" Dwayne added. 

Carter wasn't sure what made him reason his next move. Carefully, Carter leaned over the edge, and twisted his body to face the punks. He took a firm grip on the tracks with both hands and began to hang from the tracks. _How the fuck do I get back up?_

"Fun, huh?" shouted David, 

_Fun?_ A dubious Carter asked himself. This was far from his idea of 'fun'. Suddenly, Carter remembered the distant train horn honking in the distance. His hands began to shake like a Parkinson's victim, but glancing up, he realised that it wasn't he himself that was shaking – the tracks were! A train had begun to pass over their heads. Carter gripped on for dear life.

"Don't be scared, Carter!" Marko yelled, noticing his abrupt shift in body language. 

To Carter's horrified eyes, one by one the punks began to let go of the tracks and they disappeared into the empty skies below. Carter tried desperately to pull himself up but the fact that the train was still passing would restrict his escape access. It was just him and David. 

"Carter, you're one of us! Let go!"

"And do what?!" Carter cried back, watching his feet dangle.  

"You are one of us!" David repeated as if somehow trying to get a point across to the stubborn newcomer. 

And just like Marko, Dwayne and Paul before him, David's gloved grip loosened and he fell into the night sky. Carter was stunned. 

"DAVID!"

Had he just witnessed these five humans fall to their maniac deaths? Had they fallen down into some secret cave, much like their lair back at the Santa Carla shore? Or was he just imaging it all. Carter couldn't decide. He couldn't concentrate on anything else but getting back up onto the tracks properly. The passing train had completed its run and even with a clear, non-obstructive escape route above him, Carter couldn't shift his weight. Instead, the grip he had on the tracks was rapidly weakening. His every inch was panicking…he did not come to Santa Carla to die a stupid death.

But once again, from below, Carter could hear mingled cries from the punks. They were not terrified, nor were they injured. They sounded perfectly fine and to Carter, the idea of letting go was not such a bad idea. His grip was wasted and he fell through into the fog. Falling and falling…for what seemed like an eternity.

Carter fell onto his bed. Somehow, he had managed to make it home. Or perhaps he had dreamt the whole train track scenario. Shutting his eyes and rolling over on the bed, he heard his bedroom door open.

"Wake up, Horton!"

Carter traced the voice to that of Alex Browning. His goofy cousin came striding into the bedroom, pulling up the blinds. Carter moaned at the strength of the sun's rays. He shielded his eyes. 

"Wake up, it's your mom."

"Mom's home?" Carter asked drowsily.

"No, on the phone, you jerk-off."  

Alex picked up Carter's portable phone and dropped it onto his lap. Carter's hand was still cocked in front of his eyes, fending off the scorching rays. "What time is it?"

"Two o'clock. You're even harder to wake up than a fucking mummy." 

Carter grimaced at the comparison to a rotting, crispy corpse. Wanting to rid of the sun from his eyes, he stretched out towards his bedside cabinet. "Give me those sunglasses, Browning."

"You need sunglasses to talk on the phone?" Alex asked, picking up a bandana, attempting to put it on to envision what he might look like. "Are you freebasing? Enquiring minds wanna know."

Carter responded with a single elevated middle finger. Alex feigned a hurtful expression at the gesture as the drowsy teenager picked up the cordless.

"Hello?"

"Carter," came Lucy's voice. "Are you still in bed?"

"No," lied her son. "I'm up."

Alex stood in front of Carter and attached the bandana to his head. Thick tufts of his blond hair stood up from the top, making him look quite ridiculous. Even as he laid half-asleep, and half concentrating on the phone, Carter managed to shoot Alex a look. He waved his hand about, signalling that this particular fashion statement was not a good look. 

"Carter, could you do me a favour. Max asked me to go to dinner with him tonight after work, and I was wondering if you could stay in with Alex." 

"Alex is old enough to stay by himself!" came his exasperated reply. 

"Yeah, I don't _need_ no babysitter." came Alex's voice through the phone. Carter pushed him off, not wanting him within several inches of his face. 

"Carter, you know I don't mean it like that. I want you to stay at home to keep him company. Have a boy's night in, watch TV…"

"There is no TV, mom." Carter reminded his mother.

"Oh, I'm forgetting about that. Well, just stay at home. I don't want you going to the Boardwalk. You spend half your life down there and it's affecting you."

"It's 'affecting' me?" Carter repeated in an aggravated tone that resembled insulting.

"Yes, it's affecting you," scolded Lucy. "You come home in the middle of the night, you sleep _all_ day…"

Carter sighed dramatically and dropped the phone from his ear onto his shoulder. He turned his head away to evade the nagging motherly voice but even with the phone away from his ear, he could still hear it. 

"…I work all day. Alex is always alone and it's been a long time since somebody asked me out to dinner. I'd like to go. Okay?"

Carter put the phone back to his ear, upon hearing her plea. Well, he didn't want his mom to be totally miserable out in Santa Carla. "Okay mom."

"Thanks. It's a real favour." 

She hung up. Carter handed the phone to Alex, prompting him to put it back on the charger. 

"Guess it's just you and me tonight." Carter grimaced. He saw that Alex still had the bandana on. Alex looked at him.

"What? What do you think? Ya like?" 

"Is it supposed to impress me?" he asked blankly. 

"No," replied Alex. "Think it'll impress Clear?"

Carter scoffed. "Alex, lemme give you a little fashion advice, alright, seeing as I know my Gucci's from my K-Mart: you wear that, and she'll be convinced you are a circus boy."

Alex frowned and pulled the bandana from his head. 

"And what are you?" Carter said exasperated, still reeling from the silly headgear. "Twelve?"

---

Later that night, Alex was sitting in the kitchen staring out the window. He was supposed to be making tonight's dinner with Lucy out on a date with the mysterious Max. Neither Alex or Carter had met the man, but Lucy seemed to be quite taken with him and excited at the prospect of a date. But all he himself could think about was Clear. He wondered when he would in fact see _her_ again. Just then, Grandpa Horton entered the kitchen. Alex turned to see the old man clad in a smart, but shabby suit. His eyes widened as he saw that he had a bandana on his. _Damnit, Carter was right!_

"Anything in here that might pass for aftershave?"

"What, Carter didn't give you any?"

Grandpa scoffed. "No. That boy is so protective of his things." 

"Don't I know it," Alex mused and went back to the window. "How about some Windex?"

Grandpa's face brightened. "Yeah! Lemme try some of that!"

Alex stifled a laugh, amused that Grandpa wanted to use fucking window cleaner as an aftershave substitute. He handed him the bottle and the old man sprayed some onto his hands and dabbed it to his cheeks. Alex tried to keep from laughing, but keeping in comical laughter was a hard thing to do. Carter appeared at the doorframe behind Grandpa. 

"Have a big date tonight, Grandpa?" he asked. He stood with the sunglasses still on his face from this morning. Alex raised his eyebrows when he noticed that the sunglasses were in fact, an abysmal attempt at hiding…a pierced eyebrow? Carter had pierced his eyebrow…since when? Alex was sure he hadn't noticed it this morning…

"I'm dropping off some of my handiwork to the Widow Johnson."

"What'd you stuff for her; Mr Johnson?" he chuckled at his lame joke. Grandpa shook his head at his grandson, disappointed with the crude joke.

"I'll see you two guys later."

He gathered up several boxes of "handiwork" and shuffled out the back door. Alex threw Carter an offended glare in response to the morbid gag. "That wasn't funny."

Carter made a face at his cousin. 

"I'm gonna make you a sandwich."

"Don't bother."

"And loose the eyebrow piercing. It's not you, it's _definitely_ not you."

"Fuck off." Carter said harshly, taking off the sunglasses. 

"Y'know, all you do is give attitude lately," Alex sighed, then screwed up his face, realising that his attitude problem was not a new phase he was going through. Carter Horton does attitude so well. "Not that you never did before…"

Suddenly, blinding headlights filled the dimly lit kitchen. Alex spun around as the lights evaded every inch of the kitchen. The sound of revving motorcycle engines kicked in, making Carter peek out the window. He couldn't see a thing for the blinding beams. He knew immediately who it was. 

_David._

Carter walked towards the door much to the protests of Alex, who stood behind him, transfixed by the scenario about to unfold. "Don't open the door, Carter!"

Using his foot, the stronger cousin kicked the back door open and as if on cue, the revving stopped and most of all, the lights had disappeared. To Alex that was impossible. The motorcycles sounded so vivid as if the bikes were right out in the front yard. Cautiously, Carter poked his head out the door, looking for any signs of intruders. Instead, he found nothing. Alex approached him from behind.

"What's going on Carter?"

Carter didn't give his cousin a reply; instead he closed over the door and walked right by the blond teenager. "I'll be in my room."

Alex sighed and glanced to Nanook. The dog panted contentedly, as if the disturbing noises of motorcycle engines had not bothered him in the slightest. Alex walked back to the window to take another glance outside – just to make sure. 

---

Carter sat in his room, head in his hands. What was happening to him? First he moves to one of the most boring places on earth, then he meets the girl of his dreams and the baggage of her egotistic boyfriend and his cronies. Carter had hung around the dangerous type before back home in Phoenix. He had witnessed fights and shootings but none of that compared to the sickening feeling that occupied the pit of his stomach. _Maybe I do need that sandwich after all. _

Carter stepped out of his room, preparing to shout down to Alex – ask him for that sandwich – but he could hear a high pitched noise coming from the bathroom. Listening a little closer, he traced that high pitched voice to that of his goofy cousin, singing along to some song on the radio. Rolling his eyes distastefully, he headed down the stairs to feed his hunger. 

Opening the fridge door, he took out a carton of milk and put the carton to his lips. Just then a sudden, excruciating pain hit his chest and he doubled over in agony. The carton of milk hit the floor and its contents spilled out to the left of Carter's knees. 

_Holy fuck_, he muttered to himself, gripping tighter at the neckline of his t-shirt, as if trying to squeeze out the pain. The pain shot down from his chest and into his stomach. He tried calling out for Alex, but his name never escaped his lips. Carter managed to drag his broken form over to the stairs in the hallway. Shifting his weight, he got on his feet and started up the stairs, heading towards the bathroom.

Inside, Alex was singing away as if he were auditioning for the next _American Idol_. Albeit, very badly. He was definitely not a singer that was for sure. At the foot of the shower was Nanook, he was lying on the tiled floor, yawning sheepishly. That was until his expert ears picked up Carter's scent coming up the stairs. The dog immediately sprung to attention, sitting up and watching the bathroom door carefully.

On the other side of the door, Carter's breathing had increased into a frenzied, uneven pace.  He could feel that his eyes were glazed over and had become bloodshot. His sweat glands had broken out and he was damp all over. His shaking hand reached for the door knob and when he opened it he was faced with Nanook's growling countenance. Carter attempted to growl back at the dog and upon doing so, Nanook leapt up and latched himself onto Carter. The door slammed shut and Carter fell down the stairs directly behind him. 

Hearing the commotion, Alex stopped the running water and grabbed a fresh towel. Quickly drying his face off, he opened the shower door and stuck his head out. He was surprised he heard the slamming of the door over his loud music. Glancing down, he saw that Nanook was gone. Jumping out the shower, Alex picked up his robe, slipped it on and tied the strings securely around his waist. He shut off the radio and opened the bathroom door. He saw that all the lights in the house were out. _A power cut? _He thought, but immediately remembered the music playing earlier. Stepping out into the darkness that was the hallway, he squinted to try and find some form of light.

"Carter, are you there?" 

He took several steps down the stairs and repeated Carter's name, hoping for a response. He blindly searched the wall, looking for a light switch. Finding it, he flicked it upwards and stared in horror as he saw Carter hyperventilating on the floor, clutching at his bloody hand.

"Nanook," Carter spluttered, looking up at his cousin with fearful eyes. Alex's eyes widened in recognition of his beloved dog.

"What about Nanook?" Alex demanded, shifting a hand through his soaking hair. "What did you do to my fucking dog, you asshole?"

"Nothing!" coughed Carter, trying to catch his breath. "I didn't hurt him. He bit me. This my blood."

Nanook's head became visible, he sat behind Carter anxiously panting and letting out several soft growls. Alex motioned for him to come over. 

"Why did he bite you, huh? He doesn't bite! Not without a reason. What did you do to him?"

Carter slowly stood, making sure he got his facts right. "He was protecting you."

Alex was going to retort with a foul-mouthed tirade but his expression changed from one of anger into complete amazement. Looking past Carter, he glanced at the large horizontal mirror. He could see himself but not Carter. Something whack was going down. 

"Look at your reflection in the mirror."

Carter turned to the mirror, see what was so goddamn important. His eyes too, took on a look of amazement – and yet strangely, wonder. He saw a fully visible Alex, but his own reflection was wearing away. He was almost invisible to the eye.

"You're a creature of the night, Carter." Alex announced. "Just like out of a comic book."

Alex started backing away, holding onto Nanook's collar. "You're a vampire Carter," he said, inching closer and closer to the stairs. "My own cousin, a goddamn, shit sucking vampire! Oh you wait 'till Aunt Lucy finds out!"

With that, the fledging teenager turned and make a sharp exit up the stairs, Nanook following at his tail. From the corner of the room, Prince growled at his own master, seeing something different in him. Carter spun around to see Alex running up the stairs.

"Browning, wait! Browning!"

Carter chased up the stairs after his terrified cousin. Alex ran towards his room, grabbing onto the door handle with both hands. "Stay away Carter, you fucking blood sucker!"

"Alex, wait! Lemme talk, I need to explain a few things! I don't know what's happening to me!"

"You saw clearly what was happening to you downstairs!" retored Alex, slamming his door shut. "Just stay away Carter. I don't wanna be a fucking vampire!"

Carter sighed dejectedly and crossed the hallway into his own room. Picking up a handkerchief, Carter wrapped it around his hand to stop the blood from the wound Nanook had made in the centre of his right palm. He dropped down onto his bed only to hear his heartbeat, thudding powerfully in his ears. 

_What the fuck is happening to me?_


	7. Chapter Five

**Final Destination Meets The Lost Boys**

**The Cici Academy Would Like To Thank: **_Dharke…for your lovely review. Trust YOU to pick at what I stated about the last chapter being Carter centric…and you said to ignore you on the repetition of words? No, I shall not ignore you…I like criticism, I thank you for it…however, anything fierce, then I think our friendship will take a sour turn lol. Are you hoping that my…lack of Larter enthusiasm lately will make me kill off Clear in the end? Don't be absurd, lol. That's like telling me to keep my Kate Beckinsale obsession to a minimum… And here! here! to Kerr Smith with a pierced eyebrow…some stubble next, uh? _

**Chapter Five**

Alex gripped his mobile phone fearfully. He had called the comic book storeowners, Billy and Tod for advice. He had repeatedly explained what was happening to his cousin.

"You did the right thing by calling us," praised Billy. On the other end of the phone, Tod sat right aside his stepbrother, both listening in on the one earpiece. "Does your cousin sleep a lot?"

"Yeah, all day."

"Does the sunlight freak him out?"

"He wears sunglasses in the house."

"Bad breath? Long fingernails?"

"Yeah, all his fingernails are a little bit longer. He's always had shitty breath, though."

"He's a vampire alright," concluded Tod's voice. Alex sighed.

"Here's what you do," advised Billy, "Get yourself a sharp stake and drive it right through his heart!"

"I can't do that!" exclaimed Alex. "I'll get a splinter! Besides," he said, reasoning more seriously now. "Even though we don't get along at the best of times, he's still my cousin."

"Okay, we'll come over and do it for you."

"Hey, I doubt if I can't do it, neither could you."

"You better get yourself a garlic t-shirt buddy, or it's your funeral."

And with that the phone went dead.

---

Carter shifted his hands behind the back of his head, resting the heavy weight on the soft pillows. He sighed to himself, dreaming about Terry. The feelings he was being endorsed with, made him feel as if he was floating off the ground. She was so beautiful; he had never seen one quite as striking. Sure, he liked the Angelina Jolies of this world and he never imagined for one minute that he would find anyone quite so stunning. He smiled dreamily to himself, forgetting all about David and his cronies…

Another sigh escaped his lips and he slowly opened his eyes to stare right into the ceiling.

_What the fuck…?_

Carter had awoken to find himself _literally_ floating into the air. His face crushed against the ceiling as he struggled to get down and comprehend what was happening. Suddenly he was dragged towards the window, which exploded open, and he tried to grab onto the cords of the blinds. Carter latched onto everything and anything that would forbid him from flying away…

---

Alex heard the commotion coming from Carter's room but backs himself away from the door. Nanook whined fretfully. The wind outside was gathering up speed and Alex shivered within his robe. Suddenly, the house phone rang.

"Hello?" asked Alex, cautiously.

"Alex, it's Aunt Lucy. Is everything alright?"

_Thank god she wasn't home when all this weird shit started happening_.

"Uh…I-I-I think you and I need to have a real long talk about something."

"HELP!"

Alex jumped at the sudden cry for help Carter was making. Just what was going on with him in that room? Lucy could hear the turmoil and demanded to know what was going on.

"What's going on there? Alex, I'm starting to get worried. What are you doing? Is that Carter breathing like that? Put him on the phone, immediately."

"Uh, we should stay calm," resolved Alex, even though he himself was _far_ from calm.

"'Calm'? Calm about what?"

"Nothing, nothing!"

"Who is making that noise?"

"Aunt Lucy, I can't talk on the phone. It's about Carter."

"Don't listen to him, mom!" Came Carter's voice on the other end of the line. "He doesn't know what he's saying!" 

"Carter, how the hell are you in on this line?" Alex demanded into the phone. He glanced up at the window and his eyes widened in amazement. There was Carter, outside his window, flying around like some stray balloon. Alex screamed.

"Shut up, Alex!" Carter yelled through the window, watching his cousin freak out. He could be so childish at times, but in this instance, Carter could see why Alex was afraid. He was pretty scared of himself right now, too.

"Ahhh! Help! He's coming to get me!!" Alex yelled into the phone.

"Oh my god!" exclaimed Lucy, petrified. Had someone broken into the home?

"He's gonna kill me!"

"I am not! Stop exaggerating you fucking dork!" she heard Carter argue back. Her own son was trying to kill her nephew? Such rubbish nonsense. Nonetheless, she hung up the phone, assuring Alex she was on her way home from the restaurant. She ran from the restaurant out to her car – completely forgetting about hapless Max back in the restaurant.

Alex dropped the phone and turned his attention back to Carter, floating around in mid air.

"Why did you tell her that, Browning? You've gone and scared her over nothing!" 

"Nothing?!" repeated Alex. He couldn't believe his ears. How was this nothing? "There is something very wrong with this situation Carter! You're floating around for fuck's sake!"

"Open up the goddamn window!"

"Never!" his fearful cousin replied, comically putting his two index fingers together, making the sign of the cross. He had seen it in many a vampire movie, but even though he knew it did nothing to help the victim, he still continued to pantomime about. "Stay back, stay back!"

"Browning, help me! Open the fuck up! Help me and open your window!"

"Never! You're a vampire, I knew it!"

"No, I am not!"

"Oh gee, Carter! What are you then, uh? The flying nun?!?"

"I'm your cousin!" Carter pleaded, "Help me! Browning, open the window and pull me in!"

Glancing around the room feverishly, Alex relented and ran towards the window. He grabbed Carter's arms and pulled him in. Carter tried to catch his breath, and he reached up behind him and shut the window over. He put his arm around Alex's shoulder, pulling him closer to him. His cousin could be annoying at times – well, make that most of the time, Carter corrected himself – but he needed him now than he ever had before.

"We've got to stick together, Alex. Goddamnit, this was my last option. But I mean it. I need you. I can't tell you anything more other than that."

"What about your mom?"

"Just don't tell her anything, alright?"

"I don't know Carter," replied an exasperated Alex. "It's not like she's not gonna notice that you're changing by the hour. Look at yourself, you look like shit."

"Jeez, thanks. We can work this out. We _will_ make it work. You just gotta trust me."

"I've never been able to trust you before, but I guess…I guess this is different."

"Don't tell mom, alright?" he agonised again, slowly getting to his feet. How good it felt to be back on them again. Alex remained silent.

"Alright?" he prompted, again, making Alex take notice.

He nodded half-heartedly. This had hit him hard. Carter proceeded towards the door.

"Where are you going?" 

"Out. Don't try to follow me; I need some answers."

---

Outside, Lucy's smoking truck came tearing up the gravely drive way. Upon pulling up to the house, she noticed that nothing was broken. There were no flames. No one was fleeing in fear of being caught for breaking and entering. So why the sudden flurry in her nephew's voice? Jumping out the car, Lucy tore up the steps and ran into the house, shouting names.

"Alex? Carter?"

Just then, Alex came bounding down the stairs, still clad in his robe, hair damp. _Seems fine_.

"Are you alright? You had me scared to death!" she panted, placing her hand on her head, wiping away sweat.

"I'm alright, Carter too. I was reading a scary comic and it had startled me so much that I thought I saw something outside my window. However, I realised I had got a bit carried away. It was just Carter."

_Lame excuse, man! A scary comic?!_ He mentally slapped himself for spurting out the first, ridiculous excuse that came into his head. Lucy stood with her hands on her hips, looking at her nephew in utter disbelief.

"You got carried away by a comic book?"

Alex saw the disbelief and utter lividness in her eyes.

"It was a scary comic, I'm sorry."

"You know…I've just about _had_ it with the two of you…" her lecture trailed off as she glanced over Alex's shoulder to see a carton of milk lying open on its side, it's contents spilling out. Storming over into the kitchen, Alex followed his hotly on the heels of his aunt.

"What is this mess? You spill milk all over the floor and don't even bother to clean it up?"

"I didn't spill it," Alex replied, somewhat like a child.

"I can't believe you people," she said, now noticing the fridge door was wide open. Alex grumbled at the mess Carter had apparently left. "The refrigerator door is wide open! What, are you trying to refrigerate the whole neighbourhood?"

She stormed over to the messy scene, kneeling down she picked up the carton and sat it on top of the counter. "You know, it's not fair. I'd like to have a personal life, too. And where _is_ Carter by the way?"

"Oh, uh, he went to bed early."

"Hmm. I think I'll have an early night too, what with the sudden migraine you two have given me. Tell Carter I want a word with him in the morning; first thing."

Alex nodded as his aunt passed him in the kitchen doorway, heading for the stairs. Alex took the carton of milk from the counter and sat down at the kitchen table. What a night he was having. His cousin was turning into a creature of the night and his aunt was ranting and raving about their strange behaviour. When she called on him again, he rolled his eyes. _What now?_

Sighing, he got up and walked into the living room to see Clear standing at the front door with Lucy. An immediate smile formed upon his lips and all thoughts about breaking the bad news to Carter were etched out.

"If you need me, I'll be upstairs."

"Ok."

"Nice to see you again, Clear." Said Lucy in reference to the blonde. And with that, she disappeared up the stairs in retreat to her bedroom. Alex shifted nervously.

"I thought I'd come by and uh," Clear said, jerking her thumb backwards towards the door. "And ya know, finish what…" she stopped mid-sentence, taking in his edgy body language.

"Are you alright? You look like you've seen a ghost."

"In more ways than one." He mumbled.

She walked over to him, took his hand and pulled him over to the sofa. Taking her place in the middle of the comfortable area, she turned to Alex. "Whatever it is, you can tell me."

_That Carter's a vampire? Shit, no! _

"It's nothing…" he dismissed.

"See, I don't think it is. I know we've only just met, but I feel like I've known you forever. That sounds like real cheese, I know…but…you can tell me."

_But can I, really? _

"You'll just laugh and think of me to be the weird kid you met down the Boardwalk."

"I won't. I promise."

Alex sighed. "It's Carter…he's going through a lot of, uh…changes…"

Clear's eyebrows went up with intrigue. "Like what?"

"Forget I said anything," he replied and moved to stand up, but she grabbed his hand and pulled him down. Alex barely had any time to think of what to say – or rather what to do – before she pulled him to her with reasonable force and fixed her lips onto his. Taken aback by quite a reasonable amount of surprise, he did nothing but go along with it, kissing her back. When she was sure, that might make Alex tell her what was up with Carter, Clear pulled away from him. He took a moment to savour the lingering taste of her lips on his before opening his eyes and letting out a hurried response:

"Carter's a vampire." 

The serious expression that was only moments ago on Clear's face had now turned to one of disbelief. Laughing nervously, not quite believing this revelation, she looked him in the eyes.

"What?"

Alex squirmed, realising …_Damn her. _

---

Max couldn't quite get his head around what had happened back at the restaurant, when Lucy had made her quite hasty exit. Was their date really that bad? _Oh don't be absurd, old boy_ he thought inwardly. _A family emergency…yes, that's it. Trouble with her son_. Lucy had spent most of the night gushing about her son, Carter. She confessed to Max, that even though at times he wasn't the most perfect of sons, she loved him dearly.

Max had confided to Lucy that he himself had not seen or spoken to his son in years, however he wasn't about to let her know of that his son was not quite normal.

Sighing, he locked the door of his black Volvo and made his way along the wooden bridge, across the mini stream he had built into his garden. Max, in his heyday before owning the video store, was an aspiring Gardener taking after his father's craft. But with Santa Carla being a weird town and most farmland being suddenly turned into burying patches, he had lost the interest.

He was just about to step off the bridge when he heard a strange whistling noise. Ignoring it, and putting it down to his wind chimes, he continued on towards the front door. Passing under the arch, the noise repeated, this time closer. He stopped and looked around cautiously.

"Who's there?"

Looking down to the porch of his front door, he saw Thorn sitting there, panting softly. He was nudging the transparent ball towards his master's feet, the jingling noise coming from the ball. _Ahhh, problem solved…_

Max knelt down to Thorn, tickling him under the chin; relieved he did not have to face an unwanted intruder. The snow-white dog buried into his embrace.

"Is that you, Thorn, making all that noise?"

Suddenly an object, out of nowhere, smacked Max in the back of the head. Thinking his preconceived notion of a burglar was correct, he panicked. He turned to see that what had hit him, in fact, was a black bat kite. Max had neighbours but none of them had any children to speak of. Something was definitely wrong…

The next minute Max was almost blinded by motorcycle beams and revving engines…the Lost Boys were out to strike again…

---

If Michael was right, then it was David and his gang that had threatened to attack him and Alex. And further more, if he was right then they wouldn't be hiding out in the lair.

Carter stood at the entrance to the underground cave, looking around anxiously. _Please be here, Terry, I need your help!_ Taking in a deep breath, he kicked the wooden door open, snapping off a piece of wood in the process. He picked it up and dug his hands into his pocket. Pulling out a lighter, Carter lit the piece of wood as a guide to show him down the rickety stairs.

"Terry!"

His exasperated cry echoed around the cave. The place seemed to be empty. _If I can't get any answers out of her, I'll find them myself_. The thought of becoming a creature of the night, was unbearable. Carter didn't want to be a recluse from the daylight…he mentally smacked himself for even thinking of such a ridiculous thought. __

"Vampires aren't real, Carter." He whispered hoarsely, his throat feeling awfully dry and constricted.

Making his way into the centre of the lair, looking for any obvious clues that David was in on something illegal, he didn't find anything too incriminating. However, the light from his improvised torch revealed otherwise. The jewels from David's bottle of wine reflected from its place in a wrecked well. Carter walked up, dug his hands in and pulled out the bottle. Taking the cork out, he sniffed into it, looking for any kind of sedatives. Whatever it was, it smelled foul. And to think he hadn't noticed that the other night…

He threw the bottle away, feeling the need for a rampage flooding his veins. Just then her sweet voice called out.

"I'm over here, Carter."

Flicking his head in her direction, he saw her sitting on the edge of Laddie's bed, watching over his sleeping form protectively. She was clad in a flattering dress, as if she had just returned from an evening meal. She looked radiant and Carter felt his heart speed up a little.

"What's happening to me?" he asked desperately, throwing down the wood, running over to her. Terry arose from the boy's bed, making her way over to Carter. He looked as white as a ghost, he was trembling over all. Her heart ached at seeing his discomfort. She grabbed the lapels of his jacket and hugged herself into him.

"Carter, I can't tell you. I don't know how to help you."

_Tell me what…? _His brain screamed curiously. "Just tell me what's happening."

She shook her head on his shoulder…"I can't." she breathed, anguished. She pulled her head up from its position on Carter's broad shoulders. She looked him directly in the eyes, seeing the need for answers. She also saw his need. Her need for him…

Closing the gap between them, Terry softly placed her lips onto his. Carter responded immediately, taking a firm hold of her luscious body in his arms, his adrenaline increasing. She slid off his jacket, letting it drop to the floor.

"Carter…we don't have to…" she let out with a ragged breath. He was such a good kisser and he left her breathless. She needed him. And she was in no doubt that he felt the same…

"Shh, don't say anything." He captured her lips again and lifted her up into his strong arms. He eyed her empty bed at the opposite end of Laddie's and made his way over there, never once taking his lips from hers…


	8. Chapter Six

**Final Destination Meets The Lost Boys**

**The Cici Academy Would Like To Thank:**_Eternal reviewer, Dharke, as always…hmm, you seem to be the only one who's reviewing. Damn, do people even READ the FD section… (baffled look) Anywayz…love the slogan you came up with…'Cici, Cici your story is spiffi spiffi, continue to get bizzi bizzi!'  Carter's cheerleader's will be chanting that mantra soon…Selene in FD/LB…what the hell…(looks at the Selene reference in this chapter) ok, I'm one to talk…I think Alex is amusing you, you referred to him as a "plank" no less than three times…will we reach the world record? Ok this is going on two long…a few more responses then I'm done…_

_1) Carter Airways; the only way to travel  _

_2) Alex's robe; this fic's version of the hooded top you 'loved' so much in the movie_

_3) Irritation; they key to one fic's heart_

_4) Cici and romance? Pfft. Not very likely (!) _

_5) Whenever, Wherever – Shakira shoulda named that song after shagging_

_Ok, I am done now…honest…oh wait, no I'm not, here's the next chapter!_

**Chapter Six**

The sound of incongruous, cackling laughter alerted Carter to consciousness. Sitting up straight, he realised he was still in the master lair David resided in. Heat emitting against his stomach caused him to look down and see the most wonderful sight. A half smile appeared on his face, as he watched Terry slumber beside him. 

Subconsciously, he ran his bandaged hand over her bare shoulder, getting a real feel for her skin. His other hand hesitantly hovered over the cloth as if he was debating to remove it and reveal the true extent of Nanook's bite. _If it's not in the least bit healed, I'm having that canine put down…._ There were no bloodstains through the cloth. Had it healed?

Slowly peeling the material back, he saw that his hand was perfectly normal. There was no blood, no scarring, not a single sign that the dog had even bitten him. __

_What the hell…? _

Carter felt as if he had left Terry too hastily. She hadn't even woken up when he decided he'd better leave before David showed up. He wasn't scared of the punk; but strangely felt a pang of trepidation at the thought of standing up to him. Carter was afraid of no one but David was a lot stronger than him in regards to vampirism. _There you go again, Carter _he scolded himself mentally. _Thinking about fucking vampires_…

Trudging up the path towards Grandpa Horton's home, Carter adjusted the sunglasses on his face. The sun was blinding him…he was becoming intimidated by the light. His senses were working over time…he was deep in the throes of bloodlust. He shimmied slightly upon seeing his mother on the porch swing, sitting reading a novel in her robe.

"Hi." She said, looking up to see her son, still clad in the clothes he wore the previous day.

Carter stood silently, fingering his head as a migraine started to pierce through his skull. He couldn't manage a response.

"Hey, aren't we friends any more?"

"Sure." Came his gruff reply.

"Does that mean we are…or…?"

"We _are_." He clarified, a little too harshly.

"We are." Lucy repeated. "Okay, then let's act like friends. Let's talk. Carter, take off your sunglasses."

Sighing, he reluctantly pulled off the Ray Bans only to cast his glance away from that concerned one his mother's now bore.

"Carter, look at me…if there's a girl…"

_I don't wanna talk about Terry_. "I'm tired, mom." He lied.

"We could talk about…" She persisted. Carter knew she wasn't trying to pry. All she wanted to do was help him. _You can't help me. Not you. Not Alex. Not anyone. _

"I'm tired."

"We could talk about anything you wanted to talk about…"

Carter exploded. "I have more important things on my mind besides girls and school!" seeing his mother flinch at the tone of his voice made him speak his next response more softly. "Things I'm dealing with…"

"Things I wouldn't understand." She finished for him, somewhat dejectedly. Carter groaned inwardly. The last thing he wanted to do was make an enemy of his mother. The same mother who had given up everything in order to raise him to the best possible standards. And here he was, rejecting help he knew he needed. But couldn't possibly accept.

He gave her one last glance before stepping into the house. He walked in to find Alex sitting at the breakfast table with his grandfather hovering around the room as if he had nothing to do. Carter had hoped to sneak away to his room quickly, but the old man spotted him…

"Hey! Looks like I wasn't the only one who got lucky last night."

Unlike Alex, who was dressed in a faded t-shirt and his boxers, Grandpa Horton had on the same clothes he had on last night. Just like Carter. The older Horton winked at his grandson, knowing all too well the tiredness Carter was displaying.

"Did you take care of everything, Carter?" Alex asked, twirling his spoon amongst his cereal. Carter didn't even look at his cousin. He headed straight for his bedroom causing Alex to further drum into his cereal bowl.

---

"Where are we?" Alex asked, finally taking his eyes away from the apparently engrossing comic book he had been reading from the moment he stepped into his aunt's truck. Alex noticed they were parked on a gravely driveway opposite a large house. He also noticed a bottle of wine in her hand. _Private party? _

"Max's. I told you we were coming here. This is my apology to Max for running out on him," she replied gesturing to the bottle of chardonnay. Opening the door she got out and started to walk up to the gate. "Which, young man, _you_ should be making."

She knelt down at the front gate and started to place the bottle down. "Honey, I better bring this up to the house or else someone's gonna take it."

_Like who? _Alex mused. _This place looks like Fort fuckin' Knox. _

"Alright. I'll be here."

Lucy picked up the Chardonnay and undid the latch from behind the gate. The gate swung open, making a creaking noise, which alerted Thorn to get up from his sleeping patch at the front porch. His ears pricked up and his hackles raised – ready to attack anything that got in his way. Lucy noticed the snow-white dog bound up to her.

"Hi Thorn!"

The dog picked up increasing speed and was soon sprinting its way across to Lucy. But this was no overenthusiastic dog excited about greeting strangers. She saw that his face bore an expression of anger and aggressiveness and he was charging straight for her! His teeth were bared and he was barking uncontrollably. Lucy dropped the bottle of wine and she took off in the direction of the front gate just as the bottle hit the ground, shattering into hundreds of pieces.

Thorn managed to catch up to Lucy.

"Alex! ALEX!!"

Upon hearing the terrified cry, he looked up, eyes widened as he saw the dog attempting to maul his aunt. He removed his sunglasses and threw the door open, running up to the gate to meet her. He grabbed her arms and started to pull her over the gate. However, Thorn's razor sharp teeth latched onto the bottom of her summery dress. The dog was no match against the power of Alex pulling his aunt across the gate. She landed hard on her nephew.

Thorn snarled at the gate, trying to bite through the wood but to no avail.

"Get in the car!" Lucy screamed at Alex. She picked herself up and ran to the driver's seat as Alex scrambled onto his own two feet and charged towards the truck. Jumping in, Lucy started the engine, completed a skidding U-turn and floored the vehicle into rapid escape.

"What the hell was that?!" Alex insisted, looking back out the rear window as the dog still dragged its paws down the frame of the gate.

"I don't know," Lucy sighed, trying to gather her thoughts. "He's usually such a nice dog. I don't know what's gotten into him."

_But I do_. Alex mused. He truly believed that Carter was turning into a vampire…could Max have something to do with it? He didn't want to rouse any suspicions but the dog was Max's and the way he reacted to them intruding on their doorstep…it was very vampire like. As if the dog was protecting its master from something…

"Could you drop me off at the Boardwalk? There's something I've gotta do."

---

"…and then the dog chased my aunt, just like the Hounds of Hell from _Vampires Are Everywhere_!" Alex ranted, waving the comic book in front of Billy Hitchcock's tired eyes. Alex noticed that he was still wearing that stupid backwards baseball cap.

"We've been aware of some very serious vampire activity in town for some time." Tod stated, trying to unload a box full of fresh comics onto the shelf.

"Santa Carla has become a haven for the undead." Added Billy.

"As a matter of fact," Tod stated dryly, "We're almost certain that ghouls and werewolves occupy high positions at City Hall."

"Great, now fucking werewolves!" Alex exclaimed, "what fucking next? Aliens?"

"Kill your brother," Tod said rather carelessly. "You'll feel better."

Billy nudged him in the arm, looking uncomfortable.

"His _cousin_, you fucking zombie!"

Tod slapped Billy on the back on the head, almost causing his baseball cap to fall off. Instead, it now sat awkwardly on his head. Alex watched the exchange with frustration; he needed to get them focused.

"Listen! My cousin is not a blood sucker!" Alex defended, opening up _Vampires Are Everywhere_ to the centre pages. "Look, it says here if you kill the head vampire, all half-vampires will return to normal. Guys, if Carter's a vampire – believe me – he's only half."

Billy sighed, rubbing his chin in concentration. "Does he know who the head vampire is?"

"No, I don't think so."

"Then you'll have to kill him," said Tod, still obsessed with slaying Carter. "And if you don't, we will."

Billy was incredulous. "_We _will? Fuck that bro, you're on your own!"

"Don't be such a wanker, Billy. Are you afraid?"

Billy shifted position, broadening his shoulders, taking on a serious stance. "No."

Alex rolled his eyes. "It all started when my aunt went to work at Max's video store. Max never comes in until it's after dark. The dog that chased Lucy this morning was his."

Remembering how Thorn reacted to Lucy's presence, he flicked open the comic to the pages detailing the Hounds of Hell. "And look: vampires need a daylight protector, a guardian to watch over them as they sleep. Fierce dogs; 'The Hounds of Hell' are often employed for this purpose."

"Just like in _Underworld_," Billy revelled, then realised that that was before they started battling against the vampires. "Or maybe not."

"Huh?" Tod argued, awash in mass confusion.

"You remember that movie, with all the werewolves battling the vampires? The head werewolf, Lucian, or whatever said that they used to be day light protectors for the vampires. And Woah, if all vampires looked like that hot raven haired British chick then I say we don't got a problem…"

"Oh will you get your head out of the fucking movies!" Alex exclaimed. "This is not a movie! This is real life! And in this life the vamps are pissed! And they're trying to take my cousin!"

"Jeez, sorry!" Billy said, mocking his defence, holding his hands up. "Stay like that or we ain't helping you."

"Look, I'm sorry," Alex apologised, calming down. "But what if my aunt starts dating the head vampire? You guys could nail him, save Santa Carla. Truth, justice and the American way triumphs. Thanks to you two."

Tod liked the sound of that. All that recognition! He gleefully rubbed his hands together and exchanged a glance with Billy.

"We'll check out Max," they said in unison.

Alex smiled. Now they had a plan. He started backing up to the entrance, turning to face the brothers. "Ok guys, I'll come by later tonight. Aunt Lucy's having this dinner and Max is coming. We'll crash it. Be ready. We're gonna nail this assh-"

Alex stopped midsentence as he stumbled backwards into someone. _That's what you get for walking backwards_….__

He turned around, ready to apologise when he saw that the person he had almost knocked over was Clear. How many times was he going to keep running into her…?

"Oh, I'm sorry." He replied.

"You dick!" Billy shouted out from behind the counter, barely able to contain his laughter.

"Do you know those guys?" she asked, peeking over Alex's shoulder to see the capped boy staring at them.

"Yeah, they're my friends. Well…not exactly my friends but we…Look, you haven't told anyone what I told you the other night, right?"

"About…?"

Alex lowered his voice. "About Carter. You know; turning into a vampire…?"

"Oh right, no. Of course not."

"Good. So…uh, what are you doing tonight? No, wait. Don't answer that. Lemme propose something to you. My aunt is having this dinner tonight and I was wondering if you wanna come and…no. Wait."

Clear raised a smile, watching Alex struggle with what he was attempting to ask her. _He's so cute when he acts like this_…But she had to decline.

"I'm sorry, Alex." she said, "But I'm meeting Terry tonight."

Alex's expression turned from one of goofy admiration to one of feigned understanding.

"Oh, well that's alright. It wouldn't be that interesting anyway. Forget I said anything."

"We could meet later if you wanted," Clear offered, "though I can't say for sure I would be there. I mean, I don't know what Terry has planned."

"Well, you know where I stay anyway, if you change your mind…"

"I do owe you a date, remember. I still want to do that. I like you Alex…I think last night proved that."

Alex remembered that kiss she had given him. Albeit, it was to get him to admit what was really bugging him about Carter…but still, it was a kiss nonetheless. He definitely wanted to have another one of those.

"Yeah." Was all he could manage in response. He was too busy thinking what it would be like to kiss her properly. _A real kiss…_

"Ok, so I really have to go." Clear said, startling him out his reverie. "But if I can make it tonight, I will."

She started to walk away from him when he called out her name. "Clear?"

Clear turned around to see Alex coming towards her quickly and the next thing she knew she was sharing an intense kiss with him. Alex hadn't realised where the impulse had come from, but he knew that if he was never going to get another kiss with her, this might be his only chance. He wanted the kiss to last a lifetime; it was just about perfect. But he remembered she had to go and meet Terry. He reluctantly pulled away and watched as her eyes opened again.

"I've been thinking about doing that since last night." He said, catching his breath. "But you kinda caught me off guard."

"Likewise." Clear replied, raising her fingers to her lips, tracing over her bottom lip in dreamlike wonder.

"You should go." Alex prompted, although he didn't want her to.

"I should. Terry will be wondering where I am. See you around." With that she turned, preparing to go and meet her friend. _Terry, do I have some news for you…_

---

The smell of freshly prepared spaghetti greeted Grandpa Horton's nostrils as he entered the kitchen. Never had he smelled such good food now that his daughter was staying with him. He noticed Lucy standing over the boiling pot of pasta, stirring with concentration.

"Smells good! When do we eat?"

"I told Max eight o'clock."

"Max?" Grandpa whined. "Are we gonna have company again?"

"Again? You haven't had company in this house since mom died eight years ago."

"Right. Now we're gonna have company again!" came the witty response. He silently left the kitchen, passing his grandson on the way. Carter looked like the living dead. He had his leather jacket zipped up all the way to his neck, his face was clammy and eyes tired. Lucy clocked him.

"Carter! Max is coming to dinner tonight and I'd like you to meet him."

"I can't." he replied, with no tone at all in his voice. His chiselled features displayed tiredness and he didn't look up to meeting anyone. "I have plans."

Carter exited the kitchen.

"You know," Lucy called. "Things are gonna change around her one school starts!"

Muttering as he struggled to fix the zipper on his jacket, Carter swung open the front door to reveal a rather geeky looking man. He appeared to be in his early 40s, clad in tweed and brandishing a bouquet of flowers. Carter raised an eyebrow to him.

"Hey! How you doing!" the man exclaimed. "You're Carter…right?"

Carter's bored expression turned into one of complete scorn. "And _you_ must be Max."

"Right. How are you?"

Max thrust out a hand, waiting for Carter to shake it. The teenager didn't even flinch.

"Well…you are the man of the house and I'm not coming in until you invite me."

_Get out of my way you fucking square. _"You're invited." Carter said with levelled impatience.

"Thanks very much."

The man breezed his way into the house as Carter exited in the opposite direction. The smell of food caught Max's attention and he made his way to the kitchen. Just as he was about to enter, he saw Lucy setting the table in the dining room.

"Oh! I didn't hear you come in." Lucy commented, looking up.

"Is it okay for the guests to see the food before the dinner?"

"Oh, you're thinking of the groom not seeing the bride before the wedding."

"Right. I always get those two mixed up…" Max replied, somewhat sheepishly. He suddenly thrust the bouquet of flowers into Lucy's hands, trying to think of something to make up for his previous mistake. "Thorn sends his apologies."

"Oh well, tell him I'm walking again." She joked, trying to ease her date's nervousness. For a man who dealt with customers at the video shop week in and week out, he did seem to suffer a little 'stage fright' when dealing with romantic interludes.

"He promises to behave if you come back."

"Oh well…"

Feeling a tad impulsive, Max deposited a light kiss onto Lucy's lips. Perhaps the rashness of his actions would either lead them to a nice, pleasant evening or one with atmosphere and awkward dialogue.

"Aunt Lucy?"

Max perked up and removed his lips from Lucy's, to spare her nephew a sight, which might make him uneasy. Max's uneasiness was roused once again. And not only was her nephew present…he had company as well.

"These are my dinner guests, Billy and Tod Hitchcock. "

"Oh, I didn't know you were having guests," Lucy replied, suddenly her evening had been sabotaged. She glanced at the two boys, knowing they'd never met before. "I thought you would have invited Clear. She's a nice girl."

"Oh I did, but she's got plans. Anyway, if we're gonna be in your way we can always eat some peanut butter out of a jar in the kitchen…"

"Oh don't be ridiculous." Max chipped in, uncertain if that was the correct response.

"Yes, well…there's enough to go around." Lucy added. _Not quite what I had hoped for…_

She turned to face Max. "This is my nephew Alex…eh, Billy and Tod…Hitchcock?"

Tod gave a gruff nod.

"Yeah, like Alfred." Billy enthused not quite aware of the curious glances surrounding him. He grinned broadly. Totally oblivious…

---

Terry's vision squinted. Manoeuvring her head downward slightly she just about figured out what she had to do. One false move and it was over. She felt apprehension filling her veins as she flexed her hand tentatively towards the pieces…the image of her night of passion with Carter flashed before her eyes. A giggle escaped her mouth as her fingers pulled out the next piece from the puzzle…

"Jenga!" came Laddie's cry of triumph as the building of wooden pieces crumbled to the ground in a dilapidated heap. "Yes! I win!"

Terry didn't realise she had lost the game she had been playing for hours on end with her little brother. "Congratulations." The smile of her face refused to weaken. _I'll have a sore jaw if I keep this up_. She couldn't wait until the next time she saw Carter. Finally, for the first time in her life – things were good. And this was all because of her handsome stranger. _A stranger with chiselled features, muscles and…_

The creaking of the rickety stairs startled her out of her blissful daydream. Perhaps it was Carter, coming back, like he had promised the other night. She gave Laddie a fleeting glance, a newfound glint in her eyes. Laddie hadn't seen his sister this happy since…well, since she met David. Terry got to her feet and rushed to the bottom of the stairs to greet her beau. To her considerable dismay it was her best friend and not the man she sought.

"Don't look too pleased to see me," rebuffed Clear, anxiety apparent in her voice.

"I'm sorry, it's just…well, I thought you were someone else."

"Like who? That asshole you refer to as David?" Clear dismissed the notion. "Honey, forget him. You're too good for him."

Terry mumbled a response, her blissful state of mind creeped back into her psyche. Keeping her thoughts of Carter just for herself she asked:

"You sound tense. What's up?"

Clear pulled her eyes away from Terry's glance, thinking about Alex and the problem that he had given them. She let out a sigh, taking a seat on Terry's bed, collecting her thoughts. Terry sensed something was wrong. _More serious that usual_. She walked over to the bed and sat down next to her fellow blonde.

"What's wrong? Is it that guy…Alex's his name…?"

Her questions were greeted with silence as Clear weighed up the possible answers in her head. _How do I say this without it sending her into a panic…?_

"Clear come on, you know I'm not too good with this twenty questions thing." She said, trying to evoke _some_ humour. _Damn, she sure knows how to pick 'em…_

"He knows, Terry. Alex knows."


End file.
